Health Committee on May 30th, 2024

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Dr. Henry, you've been the chief medical health officer since 2014. In 2014, there was a death rate of 7.9 per 100,000. It skyrocketed to 30.3 in 2017, in just over four years, under the Christy Clark government. Since then, it has gone up as high as 46.2 and is now at 40.3, a 33% increase versus a 383% increase under the Clark government.

When you hear politicians throw out anecdotes and blame safe supply or decriminalization as the causation of the spike in the toxic drug crisis, can you explain the harm that might cause?

I will cite Alaska's death rate, which went up 45% last year without decriminalization and without safe supply. Alberta's went up 17% and Saskatchewan's went up 23%. Baltimore has a death rate of 190 per 100,000 versus 40 in B.C., without decriminalization and safe supply.

Can you talk about the importance of peer-reviewed research instead of anecdotal policy?

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

Thank you for bringing that up.

I think it is important to recognize that many of the issues we're dealing with—and we've talked about that—are related to underlying concerns and issues people have. We know that when homelessness goes up and when poverty goes up, along with income insecurity and inflation, all of these things drive the anxiety and mental health issues that lead people to increased substance use.

It is important for us to look at data and what it is that supports people across the spectrum of people who use drugs. It is important for us to not focus on one particular thing and try to make political points, because it is harming those who we all, I believe, want to include in our community and help find their way to their road to recovery.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Dr. Bach, you worked really hard on an evidence-based and expert-led project there at road to recovery.

Can you talk about the harm disinformation causes to you and your team and to the work you're doing on the front line?

[Dr. Paxton Bach]

Absolutely. I work with tremendous colleagues in my institution and all across Canada. There are really good people who see viable solutions and are working towards them.

As I mentioned in my remarks, seeing many of these complex issues oversimplified and, to be frank, often made to be such political issues is really challenging for those who are working on the ground and alongside one another, despite many differing opinions, and who are seeing that complexity and that need for different responses in different contexts. To see this turned into something that has become a political issue is very challenging. It's very distracting. It's very demoralizing. I think it really prevents us from talking with the level of sophistication that these topics deserve.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Thank you, Dr. Bach.

Next up is Dr. Ellis, please, for five minutes.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thank you very much, Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses for being here.

It's interesting, Dr. Henry. One of our colleagues perhaps started asking you this question.

Dr. Henry, you've said multiple times in the media that diversion is happening. Is that true?

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

We have to recognize that this is a symptom of unmet needs. We know that there are many different types of people sharing their drugs with others who don't have access to systems. We have heard that this has happened. It happened before we had our prescribed supply program and it continues to happen.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thanks for that, Dr. Henry. Thanks very much.

Diversion is happening. We know that.

Could you remind the panel what the leading cause of death in children 10 to 18 in British Columbia is?

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

It's the toxic drugs that are on the street right now.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

It's overdose, is it not, Dr. Henry?

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

It's the toxic drugs that are on the street right now.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

You can tell this panel equivocally that no so-called safe supply is part of the overdose deaths in 10- to 18-year-olds in your province. Is that correct?

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

You will have known that the chief coroner just put out a report on that this week. While hydromorphone, which comes from a variety of different sources, was there in a small percentage of young people who died, it was not the sole substance found and was not the cause of death. The cause and the challenge right now—

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thanks for that, Dr. Henry.

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

—are the toxic drugs, obviously.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Excuse me, Dr. Henry.

What we do know is that hydromorphone has been found in 10- to 18-year-olds who have died in your province due to overdose. That's disturbing to me.

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

Hydromorphone has not been found by itself in any of—

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

I don't think that I asked you a question, Dr. Henry.

Dr. Henry, excuse me. This is my time to ask you questions. Please, if you'd be respectful of that and answer the questions, that would be incredibly helpful.

When we talk about legalization, has the imported supply of heroin ever been allowed in Canada?

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

I'm not sure what the question is. Are we talking about legalization?

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Well, we probably should be. I believe, in your statement, ma'am, you said, “What we're doing with legalization [around] cannabis”, etc. You also talked about “monitoring and safety of the product” and “So in the long term, would that be a way to counter the toxic street drugs and take that business away from organized crime? Absolutely.”

It would appear from that, ma'am, that you are a supporter of legalization. Is that true?

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

I think what has gotten us into the situation we're in is prohibition. We've seen that in many different situations over time. We saw that with alcohol prohibition. We see this with cannabis. I think legalization and regulation minimizes harms.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

You would be a supporter of the legalization of hard drugs such as opium, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine?

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

I don't think the term “hard drugs” is a term that—

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

I don't think that I asked you that, ma'am. What I asked you is this: Would you be a supporter of the legalization of hard drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and opium? Would you support that?

[Dr. Bonnie Henry]

I believe that legalization...and prohibition is the cause of the issue. Legalization and regulation minimize the harms of all drugs.