Saskatoon's mayor says Saskatchewan is not ready for drug decriminalization

Saskatoon mayor Charlie Clark says that, right now, he doesn’t think drug decriminalization is the way to tackle the addiction crisis in Saskatchewan.

“I don’t foresee at this stage us being in a position to go further down the decriminalization pathway,” Clark said an in interview with CTV News.

But he says it’s still important to work on harm reduction efforts, ensuring supports are available, and tackling root causes to address the drug crises that have gripped the province’s cities.

Clark said the last time decriminalization was brought up at a Board of Police Commissioners meeting, they said they would be monitoring things in British Columbia after it was granted a three-year exemption to federal drug laws in early 2023.

The move decriminalized possession of small amounts of illicit drugs including heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine.

In April, the B.C. government asked to end the pilot early over concerns about rampant public drug use. The exemption now only applies to drug use in private residences, certain clinics, and drug checking sites.

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Clark said based on the experience in B.C., Saskatchewan is not in a position to move towards decriminalization.

“We’re seeing that one of the biggest challenges when you look at decriminalization is you need to have all of the system of supports in place, and options and alternatives for treatment, stabilization, supportive housing to help make sure you have an alternate to charges and incarceration.”

The Saskatchewan government has made clear it’s not interested in following British Columbia’s lead, either.

But Clark says the drug crisis still needs to be treated as a health issue, and not moving forward with decriminalization does not reduce the urgent need for treatment beds, supportive housing and other tools.

“We still need to work on harm reduction and addressing the root causes that are causing people to get into addictions.”