Submissions to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, regarding the Opioid Epidemic and Toxic Drug Crisis in Canada

Submissions to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, regarding the Opioid Epidemic and Toxic Drug Crisis in Canada December 21, 2023 Prepared by Safiyya Ahmad, Staff Counsel 2 Introduction The BC Civil Liberties Association (“BCCLA”) frequently engages in work that intersects with drug policy and the drug poisoning crisis, due to the overlap between these issues and the criminal legal. [...] Both drug users and those who care for them have reported being unwilling to call emergency services during a potential overdose, given the threat of arrest and criminal sanctions.1 Even while the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act purports to protect people from arrest, police responding to drug overdose calls continue to arrest people.2 The criminalization of drug use thus forces people who use dr. [...] In particular, Black and Indigenous people are more likely to face prison sentences for drug offence charges.5 Since incarceration correlates with a higher risk of future overdoses,6 this type of discrimination contributes both to the Drug Poisoning Crisis and to the mass incarceration crisis faced by Indigenous and Black people in Canada.7 The Health Canada Expert Task Force on Substance Use (the. [...] British Columbia is currently in the process of developing Peer Assisted Care Teams as an alternative to using the police for drug crisis calls.18 It is the BCCLA’s hope that the provincial government continues with this project, and we would strongly encourage any national response to the Drug Poisoning Crisis to consider the importance of developing police-free response teams for emergency situa. [...] Involuntary Treatment Violates Civil Liberties and Increases Risk of Death The BCCLA is deeply concerned about the use of involuntary treatment of drug users as a response to the Drug Poisoning Crisis.