Chair, through you, as the police chief of London, Ontario, I am not in support of the decriminalization of drugs in our community. I am in support of the discretion of our officers to have the ability to intervene when appropriate. I'm in support of working together with health professionals and social service agencies to address the root causes of crime, specifically, the consumption of drugs and opiates.
I will also tell you that, when we are talking about the proliferation of public consumption of dangerous drugs in the community, there's a balance that needs to be considered as a whole to the community and not just to that individual. You have to look at every individual case by itself through the lens of the social determinants of what is happening.
We cannot take away tools and the ability for police to intervene when appropriate. There are times when it is appropriate to address situations of open drug use that impact the safety and well-being of the collective community.