BC NDP grapples with potential voter fallout over province's drug policy
Just how many voters are the BC NDP willing to lose over the issue of drug decriminalization? It’s a question New Democrats are currently asking amongst themselves, as they weigh the rapidly growing risk of carrying the controversial policy through into their provincial election campaign in just a few months.
A major turning point occurred Monday, when top B.C. police commanders testified in front of an all-party committee of MPs that they were largely powerless to do anything about people smoking crack cocaine at a beach beside a family, or smoking fentanyl inside a British Columbia hospital, or shooting heroin at a busy bus stop, or consuming hydromorphone to the point of collapse outside the doorway of a business.
The NDP’s defence, though, holds very little water. Police told MPs they’ve been raising their concerns about decrim for the better part of two years, and the New Democrat administration failed to heed their warnings. Eby’s defence of the decrim program this week was muted, at best. He no longer accuses critics of fearmongering, spreading misinformation, contributing towards stigma or failing to treat those with addictions with compassion.
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