Mark Carney has dismissed concerns over Vancouver Fraserview-South Burnaby Liberal candidate Gregor Robertson's record on drug policy.
During Robertson's tenure as mayor, Vancouver saw a 600% increase in overdoses.
At a press conference in Coquitlam, BC on Thursday, Carney was asked by the Western Standard why people in the Lower Mainland should trust Liberals to solve the drug crisis after seeing firsthand the disastrous results of Robertson's policies.
He deflected, instead delivering a stock response as to how the Liberals' plan to combat the issue.
"I think there are many causes of this crisis," Carney said, "so we're attacking them from our perspective across a range of them."
He explained that the Liberals' strategy would be "multi-pronged," and "has to work in close collaboration with the province of BC."
Carney outlined parts of that plan when asked by CityNews' Joe Sadowski just moments earlier.
"We're gonna control the borders better on both sides," he said. "We're gonna do more on law enforcement, we're gonna tighten penalties in and around this, but then very importantly going to the root causes — and there are many — but some that we can most directly effect."
The Liberal leader cited mental health, homelessness, and affordable housing as examples of areas where Ottawa would step in, adding that when it comes to the latter, "if we just leave it to the market, as basically has been done for the last 25 years, it won't happen."
"We do have a mental health crisis in this country," he added, "and the knock-on effects of that have been amplified by the horrors of addiction."
Robertson was a key figure in the push to decriminalize hard drugs, labelling the move a "life-saving shift" and calling on the government to "provide more clean prescription opioids." He also fell short on his promise to end homelessness in the city, a problem which persists to this day.
Upon learning of his candidacy, the Conservatives suggested Carney's desire to have such people on his team showed he is "worse than Justin Trudeau."
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre called Robertson "the most radical, pro-drug politician in Canadian history."
