The city still hasn’t sent the request as of Wednesday, 357 days after the council voted to do so
CBC Hamilton has learned that almost a year after the Hamilton city council voted to make small amounts of illegal drugs less of a crime, city officials still haven’t asked Health Canada for an exemption.
Researchers and advocates have different ideas about whether the delay is “inexcusable” or part of “good faith” efforts.
The request was sent to Health Canada on August 10, 2022, after the board of health voted to do so.
At the time, councillors said there would be benefits. They pointed out that Portugal’s decision to decriminalize some drugs led to fewer deaths, a drop in drug use, less stigma, and more people using treatment services.
The Ontario Big City Mayors, the Ontario Association of Police Chiefs, the Registered Nurses of Ontario, and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction are among the other groups that want this to happen.
Even though it would still be illegal to have these drugs in Canada, cities can apply for exemptions. British Columbia made a similar request to Health Canada, and it was granted. In Toronto, a request that included both kids and adults has not been granted yet.
Around the time that Hamilton councillors decided to make the change, the number of people going to Hamilton’s emergency rooms to treat drug abuse or overdoses was at its highest level in years.
Things haven’t gotten better.
From January to July of this year, there were 158 more paramedic calls about suspected opioid overdoses than during the same time period in 2022.
In the beginning of this month, public healthissued an alertAbout an increase in drug poisonings and the spread of “yellow down,” a form of fentanyl that is very strong or dangerous.
But as of Wednesday morning, 357 days after the request was sent, Health Canada still hadn’t gotten it.
Before his meeting with Horwath, Trudeau was told about the council’s decision
CBC Hamilton used the Freedom of Information Act to get a briefing note made for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau four days before he met with the city’s newly elected mayor, Andrea Horwath, on Jan. 24.
The note has some parts crossed out, but it still shows that the request to decriminalize drugs was one of the things Trudeau was told about.
Since 2005, there has been a “exponential rise” in the number of deaths in the area that have been linked to opioid use. That section talked about how the city’s medical officer of health was looking into whether the situation was serious enough to declare a state of emergency.
It also explained how the council voted on a request and what happened at a meeting between Health Canada and city staff on January 13 to talk about the process.
“However, Health Canada has not received [an] exemption request from the City of Hamilton yet,” reads the briefing note.
The briefing note prompted CBC to request an interview with the city on Monday.
Why hasn’t the request been sent
The city declined an interview, but offered an emailed statement from Julie Prieto, director of epidemiology and wellness, who said public health is working with partners to “explore different models of decriminalization.”
She also said public health is “working to understand the local context and the impact of recent legislative changes by the federal government to help shape any potential application moving forward.”
“As we learn more, we will provide an update to the board of health on next steps,” Prieto said.
She said the city is addressing the toxic drug supply through the city’s opioid action plan.
Health Canada spokesperson Charlaine Sleiman said in an email the government will work with willing jurisdictions to “use all tools at our disposal to address the toxic drug and overdose crisis, including approaches to decriminalization.”
‘Inexcusable’ or ‘good faith?
James Lambert, a volunteer with the Hamilton Encampment Support Network, said the delay is “inexcusable” and the city should push for full decriminalization for the possession of any illegal substance.
“I just don’t see what there is to discuss here,” Lambert said.
James MacKillop, chair of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research at McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, said it’s “too simplistic” to say the request should’ve happened sooner and said the delay “makes sense” assuming the city is exercising due diligence.
“Of course, assuming due diligence is happening is not a small assumption,” he said.
MacKillop said the requests like the proposed one to Health Canada can come out of “desperation” to combat overdoses and must be done carefully.
“Because it needs to be part of a multi-pronged strategy, it makes more sense to make sure it’s implemented in a way that really takes into considerations all these different factors and avoids unintended consequences.”
Cynthia Belaskie is a member of Alcohol and Drugs History Society, a peer-reviewed international journal.
She expressed optimism, saying the delay may be a part of “good faith” efforts by the city.
She also thinks the mere approval by council last year will have an impact, pointing to a drop in drug possession charges laid by Hamilton police in recent years.
Police laid 558 drug possession charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in 2020, but last year that number fell to 246 charges, according to annual reports.
That said, Belaskie still thinks the request to Health Canada is necessary.
“When you decriminalize something and you regulate it, there’s a net benefit to society,” she said.
“As long as we’re keeping things criminalized, we’re keeping people as criminals and that’s not leading to a better society.”