The BC Conservative Party says it will not shut down government-sanctioned supervised drug consumption and overdose prevention sites — it labels as “drug dens” — at least not immediately, acknowledging they have withstood constitutional challenges.
“We should have been more clear,” said Elenore Sturko, the incumbent South Surrey MLA and BC Conservative Party candidate who was the opposition critic for the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions prior to the election.
“We want to transition our sites into access hubs for services including treatment and medical centre services and we certainly wouldn’t suddenly close all these sites. We want to make sure we have a transition that’s appropriate,” Sturko told Glacier Media Wednesday.
“We’re certainly not suddenly locking the doors. That’s not what this is about. This is about transitioning people, not medicating them. In my opinion, what we have is a government that continues to allow people to be medicated into their misery,” added Sturko.
Sturko said her party would increase addiction treatment services and “reduce financial barriers” to counselling/mental health support, although she acknowledged a hill to climb in addressing a shortage of human resources (ie. trained professionals).
When asked how long the “transition” would take and how her party would ensure no deaths as a result of it, Sturko replied: “Oh gosh, well it’s hard to say but it’s nothing that will happen overnight. We need to make sure the model is supported medically.”
'Putting an end to this failed experiment'
At issue is Monday’s announcement from BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad declaring: “The Conservative Party will shut down all government-sanctioned drug den injection sites, putting an end to this failed experiment that puts vulnerable children and families at risk.”
And despite Sturko’s statement to Glacier Media on Wednesday, the party doubled down Thursday by repeating its original message with a news release concerning open drug use in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island.
Rustad’s claim of “drug dens” actually refers to either supervised consumption sites (SCS), sanctioned by Health Canada, or overdose prevention sites (OPS), sanctioned by provincial health authorities.
There are three SCS and 54 OPS in B.C., according to a 2023 count by the Pivot Legal Society. Eight OPS are located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, 15 elsewhere in the Lower Mainland and 31 more across the province.
“SCS typically offer a range of other support services to clients, including referrals to treatment programs and access to housing supports. … OPS tend to be peer-run, barer-bones facilities (sometimes consisting of a tent in a public park) where people can use their own illicit drugs, access sterile harm reduction equipment, and receive emergency overdose response as needed,” the society summarizes.
Supreme Court of Canada sided with safe injection site in 2011
Rustad’s Monday announcement sparked questions as to how his party would address the fact supervised consumption sites are a constitutional right, following the landmark 2011 Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decision, Canada (Attorney General) vs. Portland Hotel Society (PHS) Community Services.
“The fact he (Rustad) is taking this position makes me wonder if he’s aware of the SCC decision or not,” said Andrew Longhurst, a health policy researcher at Simon Fraser University.
In that decision, the high court ruled against an attempt by the federal Conservative government at the time, led by then-prime minister Stephen Harper, to revoke a conditional Health Canada exemption to federal drug laws within Insite, North America’s first government‑sanctioned safe injection facility operated by PHS.
In summary, the high court determined Insite saves lives and in doing so it overrules government opposition to the exemption.
“The effect of denying the services of Insite to the population it serves and the correlative increase in the risk of death and disease to injection drug users is grossly disproportionate to any benefit that Canada might derive from presenting a uniform stance on the possession of narcotics,” the high court ruled.
“The SCC was quite decisive at that. So it strikes me as either he [Rustad] is completely unaware of the history, or he doesn’t care,” said Longhurst, noting a renewed court battle would cost millions of dollars and he suspects it would fail.
'Moot point'
Longhurst nevertheless said he questions whether the BC Conservatives would “starve” funding for sites.
Sturko was asked if she or the party had considered using the notwithstanding clause to overrule the decision, or take other legal avenues to close sites.
“At this point that’s sort of a moot point. Our intention is not to close them all, our intention is to keep them open as we transition. We hope it doesn’t come to any sort of court challenge,” said Sturko.
In fact, what Sturko is describing as her party’s transition plan for SCS and OPS mirrors the Supreme Court’s description of what Insite actually does:
“Its clients are provided with health care information, counselling, and referrals to various service providers or an on‑site, on demand detox centre. The experiment has proven successful. Insite has saved lives and improved health without increasing the incidence of drug use and crime in the surrounding area. It is supported by the Vancouver police, the city and provincial governments."
Politics at play
Whereas the BC Conservatives have taken a hard stance against SCS and OPS, the BC NDP and Premier David Eby have allowed sites to operate in select locations while being reticent elsewhere.
For instance, Eby intervened this year to ensure no site would be placed in Richmond; and the health authority claimed there is no need for one. Rustad happened to announce his planned shut down of sites in Richmond, where there is no such site but vocal opposition from residents.
Meanwhile, the BC Green Party has vowed to maintain and expand SCS and OPS, announcing its policy platform on the opioid overdose crisis this week.
Green leader Sonia Furstenau told Glacier Media via email that the Conservatives appear to be adjusting their messaging on drug policy on the fly.
“The latest shift in messaging from the BC Conservatives suggests they recognize the significant legal hurdles involved in dismantling life-saving public health infrastructure," Furstenau said.
"Hearing Conservative candidates suggest that they would invoke the notwithstanding clause to violate peoples' rights and freedoms is alarming. It is also revealing in the Conservatives' real goal: they would rather lock people up than follow the evidence-based policies that save lives."
Added Furstenau: "This adjustment in their rhetoric also shows a troubling lack of serious engagement in policy work, relying instead on short-term, politically expedient messaging. Rustad appears more focused on exploiting sensitive issues for political gain than on proposing solutions that could genuinely save lives and improve public safety."
'First-time users are dying'
On Tuesday, Furstenau stated the deaths being witnessed are a result of toxic drugs, and not necessarily addiction.
“We must also recognize that the toxic illicit drug supply is killing people who are not dependent on substances. Occasional substance users, recreational users, and first-time users are dying or being severely injured by the toxic supply. What the other parties are proposing does nothing to end the toll that drugs being distributed by organized crime in BC is having on our communities,” stated Furstenau.
Last year in B.C., 2,511 people have died from an overdose from an illegal and unregulated drug. This is a rate of 45.7 people per 100,000 residents. Last year was a record rate of 44.8, whereas in 2013 the rate was 7.2. The massive uptick is largely attributed to drug toxicity, according to the BC Coroners Service.
Fentanyl deaths
Fentanyl is detected in 83 per cent of all victims, the service says.
B.C. is the worst jurisdiction in Canada for such deaths. In 2022, the rate across the country was 18.8 people per 100,000 residents, although Health Canada notes this figure is likely lower due to undercounting of some overdose types, such as with stimulants.
In America, the rate was 32.5 people per 100,000 residents in 2021, according to the U.S. Centre for Disease Control.
