Maple Ridge appears poised to join the growing list of B.C. municipalities seeking to ban illicit drug use in public places.
The province began a three-year experiment with the decriminalization of possession of small quantities of several common street drugs.
Since then, Kamloops has passed a bylaw banning illicit drug use in parks and on sidewalks, and several other municipalities including Campbell River, Penticton and Prince George are looking at similar proposals.
Maple Ridge Coun. Ahmed Yousef has now proposed a similar bylaw change for his community, a potential first for the Lower Mainland, arguing that he’s seen an uptick in open drug use which is putting children and seniors at risk.
“We’re not doing ourselves or those who are struggling with addiction any favours by having and promoting this behaviour,” he told Global News, Friday.
“I wish the province would step in and have an overarching policy prohibiting the use of illicit drugs, especially and specifically in parks, playgrounds and public gathering spaces. Because ultimately what we are seeing is the result of the decriminalization policy.”
Yousef’s motion, set to be debated Tuesday, would ban the use of illicit drugs in all city parks and outdoor gathering places.
B.C.’s decriminalization initiative is meant to reduce the stigma drug users face and keep them out of a cycle of incarceration.
Yousef suggested his proposed measure would not further stigmatize people who use drugs, arguing instead that using drugs around families and children is what prompts a negative public reaction.
“I say the stigmatization comes when mothers and young families are having to do a sweep of a playground and a park. It creates an animosity towards a population who would be using the drugs,” he said.
“I don’t care if you roll up in a Bentley or a Rolls Royce, if you are using drugs in front of children there’s something wrong with that picture, it has nothing to do with whether one is housed or not.”
Tracy Scott, co-founding president and director of the Maple Ridge Street Outreach Society, said she wasn’t necessarily opposed to such a ban, but she said if the city wants to go ahead with it, it needs an accessible supervised consumption site or overdose prevention site.
The latest statistics from the BC Coroners Service, released in April, showed at least 596 people died of suspected toxic drugs between January and March, while at least 2,314 deaths were attributed to drugs in 2022.
“I agree they shouldn’t be using in the open or down the main drag, but then give them a place to go, have an alternative for them — you can’t just say, ‘No you can’t do this’ and not have something for them to turn to,” Scott said.
“Have the (overdose prevention site), where they feel comfortable. They can sit for half an hour at a time, do what they need to do, talk to somebody, there’s nurses in there, there’s counsellors in there, whatever they need we can direct them to — but without that, we have nothing.”
Scott said the motion singles out people who are homeless and facing addiction, who are already regularly being told to move along by city bylaw officers.
She argued if the city is cracking down on drug use in public, it should also target people who drink or smoke cannabis in parks or on the street.
In a statement, B.C.’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions said the fear of criminalization drives people to hide their drug use, leaving them at risk of using alone and fatally overdosing.
“Municipalities can pass or amend local bylaws when it comes to their communities, but it is critical that they work with public health on this matter,” the ministry said.
“It is important to engage directly with local medical health officers, who are experts in protecting and promoting the health of their populations, including those who use substances and those who do not.”
The ministry further argued that “aggressive enforcement” does nothing to address the underlying causes of addiction.