At the June 17, 2021 meeting, Commissioner Healy provided the following notice of motion, read by the Secretary:
“Please take notice that I will move the following motion on Thursday, August 19, 2021, at the regular public meeting of the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners:
‘Whereas the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners’ (hereafter referred to as SBPC) Mission Statement is to "strengthen the Culture of Community Safety".
Whereas the illicit drug crisis including the opioid crisis in Saskatoon has resulted in far too many deaths so far, and all evidence points to even more deaths in the future. Moreover the opioid crisis is a National problem as recognized by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) who collectively issued a report titled Decriminalization for Simple Possession of Illicit Drugs in July 2020 (this report will hereafter be cited as CACP and the page number of the report where the quote was taken from).
Whereas each person's death is a tragedy and negatively affects families, friends, neighbours, and our community and the sense of community efficacy and safety.
Whereas the opioid crisis is fueled by an immoral trade focused solely on profitability and avoiding regulation, police, and safety concerns, creating hard to control drug supplies which result in often toxic products that no consumer can guard against because the suppliers/manufacturers have a monopoly. With the increased use of fentanyl and carfentanyl and now more recently, the addition of benzodiazepines (all of which increase the difficulty of appropriate regulation and thus more profit) means that their products are even more deadly. So much so that Naloxone is ineffective when the mixture includes benzodiazepines and therefore even more deaths.
Whereas by reducing the reliance on the illegal trade through measures such as decriminalization of simple possession of illicit drugs, offering effective health based alternatives, supervised consumption sites and a safe supply, Saskatoon can "... make positive impacts in communities....reducing recidivism, reducing ancillary crimes...for individuals who use drugs..." (CACP p.2-3) . CACP lists such crimes as "thefts, break and enters and robberies to support their drug habits.." (CACP p.11) as well as "decrease in the number of calls for services for police to drug related incidents" (CACP p.12).
Whereas the evidence in Canada and internationally has led the CACP to state at p.3 "...The compelling case for transformative change in Canada has been made by public health officials regarding how we respond to people experiencing a substance abuse disorder. The current Canadian context is marked by the opioid crisis, with deaths due to opioid overdose reaching unprecedented levels...”
Whereas decriminalization of possession is increasingly being explored as an approach to break the cycle of addiction and harm being caused by this crisis. Many examples of decriminalization already exist in Canada, for example Safe Supervised Consumption sites, police decisions not to arrest people in or near them, The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act (Can.), localized diversion programs, prescription opioids, and programs in Vancouver and Ottawa that offer a safe supply (CACP at p.4 et seq. and at p.10) . Decriminalization is already in Canada and shows a path forward. Indeed "If decriminalization of the possession of illicit drugs occurred in Canada, it doesn't necessarily require existing legislation to be repealed" (CACP p.14). The evidence is that there are many effective pathways once we accept the CACP who state at p.2 "We... recognize substance abuse disorder as a public health issue".
Whereas in September 2018 the Canadian Federal Government "...made a commitment to explore options for safer alternatives to the contaminated drug supply..." (CACP p.9)
Whereas "...in June 2019 the House of Commons Standing Committee recommended.... that the Government of Canada work with ALL levels of government and law enforcement agencies to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of illicit substances " (CACP p.4)
Whereas the CACP concluded at p.14 "....merely arresting individuals for simple possession of illicit drugs has proven to be ineffective...finding pathways of care and support for individuals with problematic substance abuse is critical to reducing overdose deaths. Health is best positioned to address problematic substance abuse and not the police"
Whereas the SBPC recognizes, applauds, and thanks both the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) for the ongoing strategic partnerships with community agencies and health care providers to address addictions in our community, including those agencies using a harm reduction approach. And whereas the SBPC recognizes the outpouring of community support for harm reduction in recent months to address the overdose crisis and its impact on families and neighbourhoods here, the SBPC recognizes that as circumstances have put SPS into the position of normally being the First Responder in many situations, we as a community must ensure that the Second Response be the best next step possible.
Therefore the SBPC requests that the SPS report back to the SBPC on:
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- Evidence-based approaches to expanded harm reduction in other jurisdictions that could include decriminalization, safe supply, and increased diversion of drug related charges that could provide further lessons for addressing this crisis in Saskatoon; and
- What role Police Services and Police Boards play in this discussion relative to Provincial Ministries of Health and Medical Health Officers, Justice Ministries, Municipal Governments, and other partners.
We ask that the report include what resources we might request from our Federal Government and attendant civil service (see their commitments referenced above), our Provincial Government and attendant civil service, our Indigenous Governments, our Civic Government, as well as what resources might be provided by the People of Saskatoon whether as individuals or as organized in many forms. We ask for this in accordance with our mission "to strengthen the culture of community safety".’”
The following correspondence is attached:
- Requests to speak:
- Marie Agioritis, dated August 10, 2021; and
- Daniel Hearn dated August 13, 2021;
- Submission entitled 'Decriminalization of simple drug possession in Saskatoon, SK: A rapid evidence review' - Prepared by: Dr. Lori Hanson, Dr. Barbara Fornssler, and the P5 Project YXE Research Team at the University of Saskatchewan;
- comments dated August 12, 2021, from Deb Hopkins; and
- comments dated August 13, 2021, from Tim Quigley