Bay of Quinte MP Ryan Williams spoke on a Conservative motion at the House of Commons that looks to maintain a ban on hard drugs and stop efforts to decriminalize hard drugs.
Speaking with Quinte News, MP Williams says this motion was introduced off the heels of British Columbia deciding to recriminalize illicit drug use in public spaces after a decriminalization pilot was introduced in the province in 2023.
“So they tried an experiment on decriminalizing it and the mayor of Toronto has asked the government to decriminalize so she’s going in the opposite direction,” Williams tells Quinte News.
“We’re making sure there’s a motion to not only ensure we stop that from happening, but also to ensure that we we have more support, that money goes into support for detox, and for mental health and addiction support and as we’ve talked about in this area, more transitional housing, more affordable housing.”
Included in the motion is a ban on hard drugs including heroin, crack cocaine, methamphetamine etc. Williams explained why that was added in the motion despite these drugs already being deemed illegal in the rest of the country.
“That’s included because the (federal) government was hesitant to allow B.C. the ability to recriminalize those drugs so the government was the one who allowed hard drugs on the streets of Vancouver, Abbotsford and other B.C. cities and that has wreaked havoc on public spaces and parks,” Williams explained
The federal government approved ending B.C.’s pilot project on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the province requested the project end due to concerns surrounding public drug use.
Williams says decriminalization efforts should not expand into other regions.
“We’ve seen the detriment of that policy and we’re making sure that Toronto doesn’t get its way, but more importantly, when we look to solving the crisis we have in Belleville and in the Quinte region, we need to ensure we put more supports into what the first responders need, which is to ensure we put the drug dealers away, that the police need the tools to help make sure we have jail not bail for repeat offenders and to ensure those that are addicted get the help they need,” Williams said.
“Not more drugs to keep them on the street and we don’t see any more hard drug use across any parts of our public places in this whole region.”
Williams says Belleville is at the epicentre of what is a broader problem in the region.
He says resources are stretched thin.
“We don’t have the resources to battle this and it’s two sets of resources. One to the police that could ensure we deal with the drug dealers and the bad elements that are bringing the drugs in and distributing the drugs. The second is to the first responders who are our volunteers and community members from Bridge Street to Grace Inn all the way up to our hospitals, to our mental health supports. They need more support.”
Williams also gave an update on the push for funding to help set up a detox centre in the region.
He says the proof they are giving their support is in the action.
“We need to see that centre in place and the government come to the table and certainly that’s something that I’m pushing for every day,” Williams tells Quinte News.
“Every day that we don’t have them is lives that are in danger.”
The next sitting of the House of Commons is set to resume following the Victoria Day long weekend where a vote on the motion is expected to take place.
CORRECTION: A previous version of the article stated that it was a motion introduced by Ryan Williams. Quinte News apologizes for this error.
