Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has proposed new legislation to prevent the federal government from decriminalizing hard drugs in hospitals while introducing tougher criminal penalties on those bringing weapons into hospitals.
Speaking at a May 14 press conference in Vancouver, Mr. Poilievre said the Safe Hospitals Act would “take away the discretion from the federal health minister under the Controlled and Substances Act to decriminalize illicit drugs like fentanyl and meth, crack, and heroin in hospitals.”
Under the legislation, bringing illegal or unauthorized weapons into a hospital would become an aggravating during sentencing.
Mr. Poilievre cited claims from the B.C. Nurses Union that patients and staff have been exposed to harmful, illegal drugs in health-care settings. He also cited a leaked B.C. health authority memo telling hospital staff to not confiscate hard drugs or weapons from patients.
“This radical ideological approach is killing our people,” he said. “Meanwhile, community spaces like soccer fields, and hospitals and city squares are devastated by crime.”
Mr. Poilievre also offered his support for Bill C-231, a private member’s bill introduced by Tory MP Todd Doherty that proposes heavier sentences for those who attack health care workers and first responders. The bill is currently awaiting second reading in the Senate.
Mr. Poilievre responded that it would prevent the Liberal government from decriminalizing hard drugs in a hospital setting in the future, noting both Toronto and Montreal had expressed an interest in drug decriminalization in their cities.
