B.C. Conservatives vow to shut down safe-consumption sites

published on September 23, 2024 by Katie DeRosa in CBC News

The B.C. Conservatives have promised to shut down all drug consumption sites and replace them with mental health and addictions treatment centres if they win the upcoming provincial election.

But critics say the plan flies in the face of evidence-based research that shows such sites save people from potentially fatal overdoses.

B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad made the vow at a rally in Surrey, B.C., on Sunday night, saying he would stop the B.C. NDP’s program to hand out free, regulated opioids to drug users.

“We’ve had enough of David Eby and these drugs and handing out free crack pipes, having these drug dens in our community,” Rustad said.

“We’ve had enough of this nonsense. We’re going to end decriminalization, we’re going to end safe supply. We’re going to make sure we put in a regimen of treatment and recovery.”

Rustad says safe-consumption sites would be transformed into treatment intake centres, which would connect people with addictions to mental health and addiction-recovery services. He says this would get people out of the cycle of addiction…