Decriminalization was a 'public policy disaster': Retiring Prince George RCMP superintendent

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A Retiring RCMP superintendent in Prince George, British Columbia, says that navigating the decriminalization of hard drugs was a “public policy disaster.”

Shaun Wright made the remarks when commenting on the challenges that policing has brought him.

“By far, the biggest thing that I’ve had to navigate was decriminalization, which lasted for a year, a little over a year, which was definitely one of the biggest public policy disasters, in my personal opinion, that has befallen this city,” he said.

The British Columbian government's drug decriminalization pilot program is once again at the centre of controversy after comments from two of the province's most senior police officers.

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Prince George, sitting on the Fraser and Nechako rivers in central B.C., has been hit hard by drugs and is becoming a “ghost town,” according to Save Our Streets advocate Jess Ketchum.

“Their downtown core is hollowing out. You have downtowns becoming ghost towns,” he said to Global News.

In April, Premier David Eby's government implemented a ban on drug use in all public spaces, including parks and hospitals, after the NDP's failed decriminalization pilot, a request which was approved by the Trudeau Liberals.

Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, proposes raising the legal drinking age from 19 to 21 while advocating for the decriminalization of hard drugs in his 2023 Annual Report.

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This decision was made in the midst of intense debate over the province’s strategy to address the ongoing toxic drug crisis, which includes decriminalization and so-called "safe supply" initiatives.

With these changes, police are now empowered to take action against individuals using illicit drugs in public areas, such as transit, restaurants and beaches.

Trudeau says he'll use "the best science possible" to respond to the opioid crisis when asked about Premier Ford's request to stop approving new 'safe supply' sites in Ontario.

"Criminalizing and further marginalizing people" won't help, he claims.https://t.co/t50c3TNz74 pic.twitter.com/91DU9dD4vL

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Toronto, Canada’s largest city, had a request to decriminalize illicit drugs rejected after it had become clear that the B.C. pilot program, which was intended to last three years but lasted just one, had failed.