BC United holds community town hall for discussions on drugs and crime

FORT ST. JOHN B.C. — Peace River North MLA Dan Davies was joined by BC United’s shadow ministers and city officials on Thursday for a town hall event at Fort St John’s Lido Theatre on the topic of drugs and crime. 

The panel highlighted the widespread issues facing British Columbians today and how they feel the current NDP government policies have failed and even escalated the problems. 

“The present course of action that the government is going is not working, and that is why our Better is Possible policy plans to change that and move a different direction,” said Davies.

The BC United ministers spoke on their Better is Possible policy to the audience, which outlined their plan to both overhaul the delivery of mental health services and build a recovery-oriented system of care for those suffering from addiction.

The main policy initiatives include affordable and accessible treatment for people struggling with drug addiction, addressing mental healthcare needs, and providing awareness and prevention through youth-focused education campaigns on addiction and recovery.  

Other plans in the policy include “aggressively” filling 500 vacant police positions in the province and repealing the B.C. government’s decriminalization of illicit drugs.

Micheal de Jong, shadow minister for public safety, spoke about his experience as a lawyer and said there is a lack of accountability from the justice system regarding repeat offenders.  

“If the crown prosecutor doesn’t ask for a chronic offender to be detained, the judge won’t detain them,” said De Jong

“Judges and prosecutors are not held accountable. Why does somebody who has been picked up 22 times go to court, and the judge says, ‘Okay, go out there, and you’ll be good again today.’ There is no accountability for the justice system,” said De Jong 

“Don’t get me wrong, I think there are instances of people who have fallen on bad times, but there is another group out there who are criminals because they wanna take shortcuts and steal from people,” De Jong continued. 

Mike Morris, shadow minister for public safety and a former RCMP district officer from 1997 to 2005, spoke on the issues he faced as a police officer and the B.C. government’s stance on crime. 

“This government has seemed to have adopted the doctrine of prescribed immunity where somebody is suffering. Therefore, we will no longer hold them, no matter how bad the offence is,” said Morris.

Elenore Sturko, shadow minister for mental health and addiction, spoke on the issue of drugs and ways to facilitate rehabilitation. 

“The most significant part of the plan is that a BC United government will make treatment free for all British Columbians who need it,” said Sturko. 

Sturko also spoke about the Portugal model, noting the differences compared to BC and her perceived need to enforce drug laws. 

“One of the things that’s important to know about Portugal is that even though they decriminalized drugs, it’s still illegal to do drugs in public there,” said Sturko. 

Fort St. John Mayor Lilia Hansen advocated for local elected officials to help guide legislation through the Community Safety Act. Hansen called the act an “ideal tool” to help guide direction and legislation at provincial and federal levels in dealing with crime. 

The act authorizes a director of community safety and establishes a mechanism for addressing problems in communities and neighbourhoods.

“While I respect those who have issues, I don’t believe that our rules, law and legislation should be specifically giving an advantage to those who are breaking the peace,” said Hansen. 

Milo MacDonald, chief administrative officer, spoke on the price of investing in policing in Fort St. John. 

“I have an awareness of how much it costs us to have a police presence here. It’s quite expensive,” said MacDonald. “This is one of the biggest investments that we make in the community. We’re looking for ways to make that investment more effective.”

The town hall concluded with a question and answer session that involved many audience members sharing how they or someone they care about has been affected by drugs or drug-related crimes.

More information on BC United’s Better is Possible policy can be found on its website.