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One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Decriminalization experiment another NDP failed fiasco

May 12, 2024 | 6:00 AM

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT this week approved the request by the B.C. NDP to recriminalize the use of drugs in public places. The failed BC experiment was doomed from the start.

Federal Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks said, according to several sources, “We know we have to have a balance between public safety and public health.”

I am not sure how long it took the spinners to come up with that line, but it kind of states the obvious, doesn’t it?

As Rob Shaw writes in this week’s edition of The Orca, police will largely ignore most small-scale drug offences, but reserve the right to move people along, seize their illicit substances and arrest them if they prove disruptive or unsafe.

Saks says, “In the case of public consumption, there shouldn’t be disturbances to the public for those who are going about their daily lives.”

Well, how about that. Someone recognizes this is a poor choice that needs to be eliminated.

B.C. Attorney General Mike Farnworth says they’re responding to the concerns of the public. Come on, Mike, you didn’t need to go through this fiasco to know what British Columbians’ thoughts and concerns were. It is such a “tall tale” that no one would believe it.

I could not say this better than Shaw put it in his Orca column: “New Democrats continue to invent creative new ways to pivot using passive language. The weaselly words almost make you forget that these are entirely government mistakes.”

The NDP has this way of turning these issues on their heads to deflect the blame. They’re like the snake oil salesmen of days gone by. Don’t accept the blame, twist the facts, distort the truth, throw some money at the issue, and try to hang on until October.

Would we expect any more or less than that?

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.