Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
National

Conservatives to scale back, slash funds to supervised consumption sites: Poilievre

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Jul, 2024 10:03 AM
  • Conservatives to scale back, slash funds to supervised consumption sites: Poilievre

Supervised consumption sites are just "drug dens" that a future Conservative government would not fund and seek to close, Pierre Poilievre said Friday.

During a visit to a park near such a site in Montreal, Poilievre said he would shutter all locations near schools, playgrounds and "anywhere else that they endanger the public."

"Radical bureaucrats don't have the right to open these drugs dens anywhere they want," he said.

The first supervised injection site opened in Vancouver more than 20 years ago.

The sites are intended to try and prevent overdoses by allowing people to bring drugs to use under the observation of trained staff. They also provide access to clean supplies to reduce rates of HIV and other diseases.

Health Canada says more than 40,000 people have died from toxic drug deaths since 2016, when the agency began tracking these figures.

A 2011 Supreme Court ruling said that closing the Vancouver operation would deprive users of their Charter rights.

Poilievre said Friday that landmark decision does not mean supervised drug sites can operate anywhere without any restrictions.

He said he believes "reasonable restrictions" can be placed on them to prevent them from opening "in locations that endanger the community, or where there is community opposition."

Poilievre was a member of the Conservative government of Stephen Harper that passed the Respect for Communities Act following the Supreme Court's decision.

It required prospective supervised consumption sites to meet a suite of 26 criteria in order to open, such as tracking crime rates and providing medical evidence, along with handing in letters from provincial health ministers, local police and other stakeholders.

That law was panned by opposition parties and health groups for essentially blocking such sites from opening. They said it bogged down the application process with paperwork and created unnecessary barriers.

The Conservatives argued the law was needed to strike a balance between public health and public safety. Rona Ambrose, the health minister at the time, said their intention was to allow police and parents have their say before such sites could open in a neighbourhood.

After they were elected in 2015, the Liberals passed their own law allowing facilities to open with more ease, citing the need to better respond to the overdose crisis.

There are now 39 supervised consumption sites, according to Health Canada, and another 10 open applications.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Targeted shooting in Penticton

Targeted shooting in Penticton
Mounties in Penticton are asking for the public's help after a man was shot in the leg. They say officers responded to the call around 7 a-m yesterday, and the victim was brought to hospital.

Targeted shooting in Penticton

Attempted robbery at UBC

Attempted robbery at UBC
Mounties at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver are searching for a suspect after an attempted robbery with a weapon. Police say officers responded to an assault near the school's Rose Garden parking structure around 1:30 p-m yesterday, and found a victim suffering from non-life-threatening injuries.

Attempted robbery at UBC

Work pauses on Calgary water pipe after injuries; consumption continues to rise

Work pauses on Calgary water pipe after injuries; consumption continues to rise
Repairs to a fractured Calgary water pipe were paused Thursday after two workers were injured at the site, while the city's mayor pleaded with residents to step up their conservation efforts. Gondek said daily water use increased by another eight million litres on Wednesday.

Work pauses on Calgary water pipe after injuries; consumption continues to rise

Tech summit coming to Vancouver

Tech summit coming to Vancouver
Global technology conference Web Summit is headed to Vancouver next May. Destination Vancouver says it expects the event to generate 172-million dollars in direct spending and 279-million dollars in overall economic impact for B-C over three years.

Tech summit coming to Vancouver

Joly crafting 'Arctic foreign policy' amid regional tensions, not a full strategy

Joly crafting 'Arctic foreign policy' amid regional tensions, not a full strategy
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is readying an "Arctic foreign policy" aimed at preparing for a more tense time in international relations. Joly tells Bloomberg News that this will involve working closely with NATO peers, including Finland and Sweden, who recently joined the military alliance.

Joly crafting 'Arctic foreign policy' amid regional tensions, not a full strategy

Court-imposed deadline to pass new citizenship law approaching next week

Court-imposed deadline to pass new citizenship law approaching next week
The federal government has just a week left to make key changes to the Citizenship Act in response to a court ruling last year. The Ontario Superior Court has not yet agreed to extend the looming deadline, the Immigration Department said Wednesday, and NDP attempts to rush legislation through the House of Commons have failed. 

Court-imposed deadline to pass new citizenship law approaching next week