A Liberal MP has raised the alarm over public disorder allegedly spurred by the government's "safe supply" drug policy during a session of the Commons health committee. Dr. Marcus Powlowski, an emergency room physician representing Thunder Bay-Rainy River, ON, cautioned his colleagues about the perceived deterioration of downtown cores across the country, said Blacklock's Reporter.“Certainly there is also the perception that around places like safe supply, safe injection sites, that things are worse, that there are people openly stoned in the street,” said Powlowski. “People are getting cardio pulmonary resuscitation performed on them in the street. There are needles around on the street. There is excrement on the street.”Powlowski recounted incidents of public disorder in downtown Ottawa, where safe supply drug sites operate near Parliament Hill. "A few months ago I was downtown in a bar here in Ottawa, not that I do that very often, but a couple of colleagues I met up with, one was assaulted as he was going to the bar, another one was threatened," he recalled.“Within a month of that I was returning down Wellington Street from downtown, the Rideau Centre and my son, who is 15, was coming after me. It was nighttime and there was someone out in the middle of the street, yelling and screaming, accosting cars.”Dwayne McDonald, deputy commissioner of the RCMP, acknowledged the issue of public disorder, emphasizing the importance of public support for decriminalization efforts. "I think when you are faced with situations where, as we have experienced in our communities and we hear from our communities, where public consumption in some places may lead to other members of the public feeling at risk or threatened or vulnerable to street level crime, it does present a challenge,” said McDonald.In a separate testimony, Liberal MP Dr. Brendan Hanley, former chief medical officer in Whitehorse, echoed concerns about disorder outside Parliament and downtown Ottawa.The government's decision to decriminalize simple possession of up to 2.5 grams of cocaine, heroin and other narcotics in BC under a Controlled Drugs And Substances Act pilot project has stirred controversy. Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson, president of the British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police, testified the program has led to public disorder, particularly in areas such as beaches, playgrounds and bus shelters.“There must be consideration of the needs and well-being of the broader public,” said Wilson.“Prior to decriminalization, if someone was using drugs in a problematic circumstance, for example at a playground or at a bus shelter or at a beach, community members were able to call 9-1-1, police were able to attend and were able to address that circumstance."“Has decriminalization of simple possession had more positive impacts than negative impacts?” asked Bloc Québécois MP Luc Thériault. “I do not agree with that statement,” replied Deputy Wilson.
