Ottawa approves B.C.'s request to recriminalize drug use in public spaces

The federal government approved B.C.'s request Tuesday to recriminalize the use of drugs in public spaces such as hospitals and parks.

The federal government approved B.C.'s request Tuesday to recriminalize the use of drugs in public spaces such as hospitals and parks.

B.C.'s Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said at an afternoon news conference the province's request was in response to "community concerns."

"What we've done is respond to what police have been asking for and to deal with public drug use and that's what the public has said they're concerned about," he said. "They expect their parks, their playgrounds, their streets to be safe areas, that they shouldn't have to put up with public drug use."

B.C. is a year into a three-year pilot project to decriminalize the possession of a small amount of certain illicit drugs, including heroin and cocaine. Citing safety concerns from public consumption of those drugs, the province asked the federal government late last month to make illicit drug use illegal in all public spaces, including in hospitals, on transit and in parks.

Exemptions in the Criminal Code for possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use will still apply in private residences, certain health-care clinics, places where people are lawfully sheltering, and overdose prevention and drug checking sites.

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside said those exemptions will help people using at home to "call for help without fear of being arrested."

"The vast majority of people who die from toxic drug poisoning are dying at home alone," she said, adding she's heard anecdotes about people who were too scared to call for help.