A Kamloops city councillor whose motion spurred the city to draft a bylaw restricting public drug use called on residents dissatisfied with street disorder to voice support for a similar provincial law recently temporarily halted by the B.C. Supreme Court.
The provincial government’s Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act received royal assent in November. The act would ban the consumption of drugs within six metres of all building entrances and bus stops, within 15 metres of playgrounds, spray parks and skate parks, and in parks, beaches and sports fields.
The B.C. Supreme Court imposed a temporary injunction on the act, ruling in favour of arguments brought forward by the Harm Reduction Nurses Association. The association argued the health and safety of those who use drugs would be put at risk, particularly at a time when there’s a lack of supervised consumption sites, combined with toxic drug and housing crises.
During a Jan. 9 council meeting, Coun. Katie Neustaeter addressed the injunction, saying she wanted to address misinformation circulating in the community around who holds the power and influence over in this matter.
She said B.C. needs to build an approach which equally supports prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement — known as the four pillar model — but the province keeps missing "the opportunity to build solutions.”
“If you don't think that shooting heroin in public parks, cooking meth on city sidewalks, thousands of British Columbians dying from toxic drug crisis without options for treatment and the resulting social order is okay, if you do think it's better to build solutions than endorse the problem, please email the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General the Hon. Mike Farnworth, or the Premier of B.C., the Hon. David Eby, and voice your opinion,” Neustaeter said.
“Those of you who are saying this is not okay on the streets of Kamloops and the parks of Kamloops, this council is with you, we agree with you. We are all in on this. We cannot do it alone. We need you to join us in the petitioning.
“There is nobody sitting in this room who is saying that we don't think there needs to be change, but you need to lend your voices to ours, not going against this council or blaming the staff at the City of Kamloops, but instead, lend your strength to ours so we speak loudly enough that the courts hear us. "
Neustaeter said “irreparable harm” is being done to thousands of families who are losing loved ones to the toxic drug crisis.
“We need to work together on this so that the feds and the province hear us, and these things change,” she said.
When council was discussing Neustaeter's motion last year, Interior Health representatives voiced concerns about a ban on using drugs in public spaces, arguing such laws could set harm reduction efforts back.
Coun. Dale Bass noted Kamloops continues to see record numbers of deaths due to the toxic drug crisis, suggesting council should boost its lobbying efforts for things like supervised inhalation sites.
Council members and staff agreed to discuss the matter further during an upcoming safety and security committee meeting on Jan. 30.
