Campbell River City Council formally passed its controversial public nuisance amendment bylaw that prohibits the consumption of drugs in specific city-owned public spaces.

B次元官网网址淣ow that weB次元官网网址檝e passed a bylaw, weB次元官网网址檝e given the RCMP and our bylaw enforcement staff with a tool that they can use. And IB次元官网网址檓 hoping theyB次元官网网址檙e going to use it judiciously. But nevertheless, itB次元官网网址檚 there to be used,B次元官网网址� Coun. Doug Chapman said at the July 20 city council meeting.

Council gave bylaw No. 3898 third reading at the July 20 meeting and said in a regular meeting summary circulated publicly that the bylaw B次元官网网址渋s an important step in promoting the use and enjoyment of public spaces by the entire community and moving the dial on downtown revitalization efforts. The city is actively working with law enforcement, other levels of government and community partners on a range of intiatives that work towards councilB次元官网网址檚 Strategic Priority: Health and Safe Community.B次元官网网址�

The bylaw prohibits consumption of controlled substances in specific city-owned public spaces where children and families carry out recreational or leisure activities. Enforcement of the bylaw will be managed through education and redirection for six months, with city staff to report back to council. Individuals arrested under the bylaw will be directed to the Overdose Prevention Site at 1330 Dogwood St. when necessary as a harm-reduction measure.

Councillors also asked staff to highlight informational resources on decriminalization available to residents from the provincial government. That information is available online at gov.bc.ca/gov/content/overdose/decriminalization.

Councillors tabled a letter from a member of the public that exemplified their justification for the bylaw. Read the letter here.

Mayor Kermit Dahl referred to the letter in a statement at the end of the meeting.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 going to read one sentence from this, because I get to read a lot of emails,B次元官网网址� the mayor said. B次元官网网址淎nd I think this one applies to a lot of people who have had questions. It reads, B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 confused about the need to amend a bylaw to prohibit illegal drug use in specific public places. I would think that similar to other controlled substances, like alcohol and marijuana, the use of illicit drugs would always be illegal in public spaces. But, unfortunately, thatB次元官网网址檚 not the way it is. Alcohol and marijuana are both legal. And as they were made legal, the government put regulations in place.

B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址榃hen the illicit drugs were decriminalized, the act of possessing them was illegal. So the act of consuming them in public places was illegal, because the simple possession stopped the consumption. So when they were decriminalized, there was no laws in our criminal act to deal with illicit drug use in public places. Because, as I said, simple possession was illegal. And that was the deterrent. So when the province removed that, our RCMP and bylaw had no tools in place to deal with the things that were going on.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪o I just hope by us pulling this one letter,B次元官网网址� the mayor continued, B次元官网网址減eople B次元官网网址� if thereB次元官网网址檚 any that are watching this (on the city meeting webcast) B次元官网网址� gain, a slight understanding more of the reason that we have been working on this since the end of January.B次元官网网址�

This was city councilB次元官网网址檚 second attempt to pass a bylaw countering the provinceB次元官网网址檚 decriminalization of the possession of small quantities of controlled substance (2.5 grams). When the bylaw was first proposed on Feb. 23 it gained the city some notoriety around the province. It was one of the first municipal governments to try and implement counter measures to an exemption Health Canada granted to the Province of British Columbia. That exemption decriminalizes the possession of up to 2.5 grams of street drugs, provided they are for personal use.

The bylaw as originally worded came under a legal challenge based on the position that the city was overstepping its jurisdictional boundaries. Council dropped that version and replaced it with a modified version that was more limited in scope and more specific in terms of where it would apply.

Read more:

editor@campbellrivermirror.com
Like us on and follow us on