The Premier says he shares the sense of urgency of Business Improvement Association and business owners in the provinces when it comes to concerns about drug addiction and homelessness in the downtown core.
David Eby says they introduced a new law in the past legislative session to say very clearly that you’re not able to use hard drugs in business doorways, bus stops and at parks, and that the police should be able to regulate that.
“Unfortunately, the BC Supreme Court has issued an interim decision saying that we are not able to regulate hard drugs the way that we do tobacco and alcohol, which is an incredibly unusual, surprising and concerning decision from the court.”
Eby says he feels his government is on the same page with businesses when it comes to the need for the community to be safe.
But he says it is the federal government that is responsible for the criminal code.
“We have been in discussions with the federal government who is responsible for the criminal code for some time, really pressing them to pass changes to the bail rules in Canada. The changes that they made that were well intentioned but resulted in many cases people who have committed multiple violent offences being released back into the community.”
Eby says it took a couple of legislative sessions, but he says that should change.
“Ultimately the pressure of groups like the Save Streets Coalition, as well as our government’s work, resulted in that change happening which just came into force a couple of weeks ago, so we should start to see some benefits from that change in the law, courts having the tools that they need to keep people who are making communities less safe behind bars as they wait for trial is a significant change.”
Eby says people who are committing multiple crimes are now being tracked across the province.
“We have 90 people who are in the tracking system right now being followed by probation officers, police and crown all working together if they’re arrested, coordinating care, and if not making sure they’re behind bars to protect the community and we’re seeing results from that. ”
Eby says these problems will not be solved overnight though.
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