Link to video recording of session, 9 July (begins at 15.12 minutes).

An Cathaoirleach: Three members are physically present in the committee room and the others are online. Senator O’Hara and Deputy Stanton are online.

We are waiting for Mr. Kellen Russoniello. I thank Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Wilson for agreeing to speak with us this evening, though it is obviously not evening in Vancouver. I am waiting for the other witness to join us. I will wait a moment or two. Hopefully we will be joined by Mr. Russoniello.

I wish to advise members and witnesses on privilege. Parliamentary privilege is considered to apply to the utterances of members and anybody participating online in a committee meeting when their participation is within the parliamentary precincts. There can be no assurances in respect of participation online from outside the parliamentary precincts and contributors should be mindful of this when they are contributing.

The topic of our meeting is engagement on decriminalisation, depenalisation, diversion and legalisation, and we are looking at international comparisons. Committee members are interested to learn from the experiences of other countries regarding their drug policies. I welcome our witnesses, who are joining us by MS Teams, Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Wilson of the Vancouver Police Department and Mr. Kellen Russoniello, senior policy council with the Drug Policy Alliance. They are both very welcome. I am glad they had the time to meet with us and we were able to organise a meeting where they could both participate.

I invite Deputy Chief Constable Wilson to give her opening statement.

Ms Fiona Wilson: I am honoured to share with the Joint Committee on Drugs Use our experience as police leaders with the decriminalisation of illicit drugs in the province of British Columbia, Canada.

On 31 January 2023, a decriminalisation exemption was issued by Health Canada under our Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.. The exemption was part of a three-year pilot that aimed to take a health-led approach to substance use, as opposed to one led by the criminal justice system. It allowed for the personal possession of 2.5 g or less of a variety of illicit drugs, including opioids, cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamines. There were initially six exceptions where the exemption did not apply, including kindergarten to grade 12 schools, daycare facilities and vehicles being operated by a minor. Trafficking and production were and are still unlawful, regardless of amount.

Decriminalisation was initially supported by police in British Columbia because we inherently agreed that criminalising people for what had come to be understood as a health issue, not a criminal justice one, was not effective, helpful or compassionate. Throughout the province, we already had widespread de facto decriminalisation in that police officers rarely sought charges for simple possession, except in exceptional circumstances.

In British Columbia, we know all too well the severity of the toxic death crisis. Since a public health emergency was declared in this province on 14 April 2016, more than 14,000 British Columbians have died from accidental overdoses. Toxic drugs are the leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 59, accounting for more deaths than homicides, suicides, accidents and natural disease combined. We averaged seven deaths a day in the province in 2023, where we have a population of just over 5 million people. We know from coroner data that people are dying from fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine in that order. The crisis has had an especially devastating impact on indigenous people, who are six times more likely to be impacted than non-indigenous people.

Having said all that, the implementation of decriminalisation did not occur without criticism or concern. In fact, if I have one warning about decriminalisation, it is this: the devil is in the details. Although everyone may agree that a health-led approach to personal substance use is what is needed, the potential for unintended and unforeseen consequences on people who use drugs and the broader community can not be overstated.

Police leaders clearly identified some of those potential consequences prior to the submission of the exemption request both orally and in writing. These serious concerns included, but were not limited to, the matters of public consumption, consumption in licensed establishments and other semi-public spaces, and driving-related concerns.

However, the implementation of decriminalisation occurred before more fulsome restrictions could be adopted.

While the vast majority of people who use drugs do not want to do so in a manner that negatively impacts others, we had several high-profile instances of problematic drug use at public locations here in British Columbia, BC, including parks, beaches, and around public transit areas. In addition, there were concerns from small businesses about problematic drug use that prevented access by customers or negatively affected operations.

In the wake of failed efforts by the province to enact legislation to address public drug use, police strongly urged the province to have the exemption further limited after hearing continued concerns with public drug use, street disorder and an inability for our officers to lawfully intervene when necessary.

Less than 15 months after the exemption took effect, all personal drug possession in public spaces became prohibited again. In short, decriminalisation in BC was largely rolled back except in very limited circumstances. It is apparent that decriminalisation is only one strategy that must be part of a much broader, multifaceted response. Additional strategies include increased efforts in the areas of education, prevention, treatment and the provision of enhanced health services. While much work is occurring in these areas, it is clear that while decriminalisation was able to come into effect in a relatively short timeframe, these other resources take significantly longer to achieve and implement.

While working towards better health outcomes for people who use drugs, there must also be consideration of the needs and well-being of the broader public. I believe that other jurisdictions that have implemented or considered decriminalisation, only to later abandon it, have done so because of unaddressed and unintended impacts on community safety and well-being. I thank the committee for its time and attention...

[Click here to view the full debate on the Oireachtas website]