A British Columbia Supreme Court Justice has granted a temporary injunction against the B.C. NDP government’s legislation banning all drug use in a wide range of public spaces, pausing the law three days before it was set to come into force.
The B.C. Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act passed in early November and was set to become law on Jan. 1. However, it would not have immediately impacted people’s lives because cabinet has not yet approved regulations to implement it.
The proposed changes would ban illegal substance use from all public parks to sports fields and beaches, as well as close to any workplaces, skate parks, pools, transit stops, residences or playgrounds — including within six metres of “a place to which the public has access” and “a prescribed place.”
But on Friday, B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ordered the law paused until March 31, ruling it would likely result in more deaths, displacement and criminalization of people who use drugs.
Do we have enough? Because there were an awful lot of deaths last year. That’s a lot of people who will never have the opportunity to go to rehab.
But yes we also need more rehab.
Edit: a quick Google search tells me that there is 1 safe consumption location in Prince George, it is only open 6 days a week and only from 9 am to 6:30 pm and there is a mobile service apparently but I don’t know of many unhoused people who are able to just whip out a phone and call them up whenever they find a fix.
And when something is for “Prince George”, you know they mean it is for the entire Northern region.