Ottawa introduces new bill to help combat opioid overdose crisis
Posted December 12, 2016 1:03 pm.
Last Updated December 12, 2016 4:53 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA, ON. (NEWS 1130) – Amid a public health emergency due to an increasing number of opioid-related deaths in this province and across the country, the federal government is taking steps to try and mitigate the problem.
Ottawa says Bill C-37 will reduce the number of requirements for opening a new supervised consumption site from 26 to five. It also bans the importation of pill presses and encapsulators without Health Canada’s pre-approval. The bill also gives Canada Border Services more power to inspect smaller packages from overseas.
Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced the proposed changes to the Controlled Drug and Substances Act today. Philpott is billing the changes as part of the Liberal government’s overall effort to take Canada’s drug strategy out of the realm of criminal justice and into the public health fold.
Canada currently has only two supervised drug injection sites in Canada, both are in Vancouver, and existing laws allow such sites to operate only in exceptional circumstances.
Philpott says the new law would make it easier for such sites to be established, provided they can demonstrate a compelling public health need and a lack of risk to public safety.
The new legislation would also lift a restriction that prevents border guards from inspecting packages that are under 30 grams in weight, provided they have reason to believe the packages contain illegal drugs.
BC’s Health Minister reacts
BC Health Minister Terry Lake was happy to hear of the changes to the Controlled Drug and Substances Act, announced just moments before he toured a mobile medical unit in downtown Vancouver.
“Simplifying that means that we can get these sites up and running sooner and we can save lives and importantly reduce infection,” says Lake.
“I think this is a direct result of Premier Clark sending me and coming with me to Ottawa to talk to people about what’s going on here in BC.”
He adds he’s especially happy with the ban on importing pill presses.
“This is, again, something we’ve been asking for from the very beginning. It just makes so much sense to do it on a federal level.”
