Premier's office guided health authority response on possible drug consumption site at Richmond Hospital

Vancouver Coastal Health quickly shot down a controversial city council proposal to explore the possibility of creating a drug consumption site at Richmond Hospital – but it turns out Premier David Eby’s office played a role in directing the health authority’s response.

Vancouver Coastal Health quickly shot down a controversial city council proposal to explore the possibility of creating a drug consumption site at Richmond Hospital – but it turns out Premier David Eby’s office played a role in directing the health authority’s response.

The motion, which Richmond council passed by a vote of 7-2 in February, called for city staff to work with VCH to explore the feasibility of a supervised consumption site.

It erupted into a political firestorm involving politicians at both the municipal and provincial level.

Richmond councillor Kash Heed was one of the councillors who sponsored the motion.

"We were going through a due process, we were going through the science, we were going by what the experts were saying,” Heed said about the motion, which did not specifically call for the creation of a site.

Nevertheless, misinformation about the council motion fuelled intense debate and protests over two nights at Richmond City Hall.

Politicians from the opposition BC United and the BC Conservatives seized on the opportunity to take aim at Eby’s NDP government and its harm reduction policies.