Thank you for the question.
First of all, we've had public drug use in Canada prior to the now largely rescinded decriminalization pilot in B.C. and in other cities. As I travel throughout the country, I see the types of things you're talking about. It's not limited to B.C. or Vancouver. I want to talk briefly about B.C., though.
The Vancouver Police Department, and this is a quote from Inspector Phil Heard, who oversees the VPD drug unit, stated on March 3, 2024, “We've actually seen a decrease in public complaints around public consumption”. That's a direct quote from him.
Chief Constable Adam Palmer was asked about any sorts of statistics that were kept around the police claims that they didn't have recourse for the types of situations you're talking about. This is a quote from the article I'm referring to: “Palmer said the VPD has not kept statistics on number of incidents where a person was using drugs in a public place, where police were unable to intervene.”
Really, what we're seeing is quite a large upspring in concern, but the data is not backing it up. How do we get it right?