The federal government is granting British Columbia’s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks made the announcement Tuesday on Parliament Hill.
B.C. is little more than a year into a three-year pilot project to decriminalize the possession of a small amount of certain illicit drugs, including heroin and cocaine.
But citing safety concerns from public consumption of those drugs, the B.C. government asked the federal government on April 26 to make illicit drug use illegal in all public spaces, including in hospitals, on transit and in parks.
The issue sparked tense debate in the House of Commons last week, when Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pressed the Liberals to accept B.C.’s request, leading to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accusing Poilievre of “shameful, spineless leadership,” and the latter firing back, calling Trudeau “wacko.”
With files from CTVNews.ca’s Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello
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