Pubdate: Wed, 01 Feb 2017
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Peter O'Neil
Page: A6

B.C. MP REPEATS CALL FOR NATIONAL EMERGENCY OVER OPIOID CRISIS

We have heard desperate cries for help from communities most affected
by the opioid crisis.

The Trudeau government has to stop foot-dragging on the opioid
overdose crisis and immediately enact emergency powers to reduce the
death toll, opposition MPs said Tuesday.

B.C. New Democrat health critic Don Davies made the call in a
blistering speech in the House of Commons during debate on Bill C-37,
the Liberal government's legislative response to the crisis.

The bill would, among other things, remove barriers in a law passed by
the Conservatives in 2015 that critics said made it difficult to open
supervised opioid-consumption sites in Canada.

It would also give the Canada Border Services Agency more powers to
inspect suspicious mail and allow Ottawa to limit the importation of
devices such as pill presses.

The visibly angry Vancouver Kingsway MP said the Liberals, who in
opposition criticized the 2015 Tory law on injection sites, waited far
too long before finally tabling C-37 in December in order to remove
those barriers.

That means the legislation will "take months" to become law even
though the B.C. death toll soared to a record-shattering 914 in 2016,
he noted.

Instead, Davies said the government should invoke the 1985 Emergencies
Act, a never-used law that replaced the controversial War Measures
Act. It gives the government extraordinary powers in the event of
national emergencies.

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott reiterated on Tuesday her recent
challenge to the B.C. government, asking her B.C. counterpart, Terry
Lake, what the Emergencies Act would allow her to do that she isn't
already able to do.

"But to this date, everything that they have requested in terms of
making sure that we expand access to treatment possibilities for them,
that we make sure that they get the resources that they need, that we
change legislation as it relates to harm reduction, we're moving
forward on all of those," Philpott said.

Davies said that the emergencies law would allow Canada's chief public
health officer "to take extraordinary measures to co-ordinate a
national response" to the crisis.

"This could include an allocation of emergency funding on the scale
required to actually address the mounting death toll, as well as
sanctioning the operation of temporary supervised consumption sites on
an emergency basis."

The B.C. Health Ministry, in response to Philpott's challenge, issued
a statement to Postmedia saying the Emergencies Act could, among other
things, allow Ottawa to fund "mobile medical units for overdose hot
spots" and open more consumption sites.

Philpott defended her government's record since taking office in late
2015, and urged MPs to pass the bill that would make it easier to set
up injection sites.

"We have heard desperate cries for help from communities most affected
by the opioid crisis," she said.

"They have indicated that the current requirements are burdensome and
hinder their ability to offer services needed to reduce harm and to
save lives."

B.C. Conservative MPs Dianne Watts (South Surrey-White Rock) and Cathy
McLeod (Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo) announced in mid-January that they
support the B.C. government's call on Ottawa to use the Emergencies
Act.

But the official Opposition made clear Tuesday it will oppose C-37's
attempt to weaken the ability of local communities to block injection
sites. The two B.C. Tories are instead pushing for a "national
education campaign" so "moms and dads" can be engaged in the debate.
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