麻豆传媒映画

Mayor Kennedy Stewart announced Wednesday that Health Canada will begin 鈥渇ormal discussions鈥� with him and other leaders in the city on Vancouver鈥檚 plan to decriminalize simple possession of all illicit drugs.

In a news release, Stewart described the anticipated talks as 鈥渁nother hopeful and critical milestone on the path towards fully embracing a health-focused approach to substance use鈥� in Vancouver.

鈥淭his news comes at a time when the overdose crisis in our city has never been worse, with a person-a-day still needlessly dying due to poison drugs,鈥� said the mayor, who thanked Canada鈥檚 Minister of Health Patty Hajdu for her response and her attention and dedication to the file.

鈥淲hile 2020 looks to be the deadliest year on record for overdoses, I am hopeful that this news from Ottawa can mean that 2021 will be different.鈥�

Premier John Horgan, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and Dr. Bonnie Henry are all on record of supporting decriminalization.

鈥淭he City of 麻豆传媒映画looks forward to working with officials from Health Canada, 麻豆传媒映画Coastal Health, the 麻豆传媒映画Police Department, community groups and advocates, as well as people with lived experience to craft a framework to determine how decriminalization will be implemented,鈥� Stewart said.

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@Howellings