B.C. government appealing decision which stayed legislation on reducing public drug use

Law360 Canada (January 26, 2024, 8:12 AM EST) -- B.C. has announced it intends to appeal a recent court decision which put the brakes on legislation aimed at reducing the number of people using illicit drugs in public places.

The Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act was passed by the B.C. legislature in November 2023 and prohibits people from consuming certain illegal substances in public areas such as sports fields, beaches and parks. Under the law, a police officer can order an individual to cease the consumption of an illegal substance or to move from a place, and noncompliance could be punished by a maximum fine of $2,000 and/or a term of imprisonment up to six months.

In December, B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson put the brakes on the legislation, granting an injunction to stay its effects until March 31, 2024, while a constitutional challenge played out. He wrote the “instant circumstances” in British Columbia — namely, a public health emergency on drug use declared in 2018 — were “exceptional,” and letting the law come into effect would cause “irreparable harm” to people who use drugs.

But Attorney General Niki Sharma said, after reviewing the decision, the province has decided to file a notice of appeal seeking to have the order overturned.

“We are determined to keep doing everything we can to fight the toxic drug crisis and treat addiction as a health matter rather than a criminal one, while recognizing that drugs should not be used in a range of public places frequented by children and families,” she said in a statement issued Jan. 25. “It is our view that the Act addresses this.”

The legislation, which was brought in as a response to concerns raised after the province was granted a three-year exemption decriminalizing personal possession of small amounts of drugs, met with the ire of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association/Association des infirmiers et infirmières en réduction des méfaits (HRNA), which said it violated the Charter because it would push people who use drugs further into the shadows and lead to increased interactions with law enforcement, displacement, drug seizures, fines and arrests.

Representatives of the Pivot Legal Society, which represented the HRNA in court, were not immediately available for comment.

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