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e-3259 (Health)

E-petition
Initiated by Marilyn Banfield from 1448 Pembroke Street, British Columbia

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • The opioid crisis is one of the largest public health emergencies with a death toll of over 17,629 people in Canada of an opioid overdose between January 2016 to June 2020;
  • Other countries have reduced drug deaths with reforms such as legal regulation of illicit drugs, developed safe supply and decriminalization for personal use;
  • The federal government indicated it is premature to discuss these measures until there are comprehensive supports for people to recover;
  • Measures that save lives are essential if people are to survive and access supports;
  • The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police suggests “decriminalization for simple possession” to reduce the public health and safety harms associated with “substance use”;
  • The government states it is “deliberating” over decriminalization; and
  • The overdose crisis rages, no signs of abating.
We, the undersigned, residents and citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Declare the overdose crisis a national public health emergency;
2. Involve people affected by this crisis and meet with the provinces to develop a comprehensive, pan-Canadian action plan, comprehensive supports and reforms other countries have adopted to reduce drug-related fatalities and stigma;
3. Create and fund a national safe supply program that extends beyond the COVID-19 pandemic to regulate illicit drugs and ensure the safe supply of pharmaceutical alternatives to toxic drugs;
4. Decriminalize all drugs, people who possess drugs for their own use;
5. Expand the legal protection in the Good Samaritan Act to all drug-related charges, and protect those with warrants for their arrest and without citizenship status; and
6. Expand federal funding for Overdose Prevention Sites (OPS) and Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS).
Open for signature
March 25, 2021, at 2:07 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
July 23, 2021, at 2:07 p.m. (EDT)
Photo - Laurel Collins
Victoria
New Democratic Party Caucus
British Columbia