Why are you comparing Canadian drug policies to Europe? It would be far better to compare our drug policies with Asian countries who have over 100 years experience in having to live with drug addictions.
In China, for example, every addict is given involuntary drug addiction treatments. Drug importing and dealing are extremely serious criminal offences. Addicts are not allowed to die on the streets.
Our streets are becoming dangerous.
You are right. Are public libraries suppose to be institutions for learning or are they resources for the homeless, the drug addicted and the mentally ill. They can't be both. Pick one or the other. If they don't make the choice, the general public will do it for them by staying away.
Agree with a lot of your response (and always to most of BtN pieces), but not sure comparisons to non-democratic countries like China are a better comparison than some W. European countries. China was also able to quickly and dramatically reduce mortality, esp kids, over a few decades; many millions of kids not starving to death. They didn't need to go through our onerous democratic processes. Not sure we have that 'luxury' in Canada. In addition, some countries such as Finland try to make library spaces truly inclusive and even have some limited sleeping pods for folks. I don't think public spaces should be exclusionary- but they must enforce social contracts that used to include not shooting up near city fountains or in hospital rooms..... this is not a drug issue. It's a function of deeply torn and disintegrating social fabric that causes 'the least among us' to go cuckcoo.
Okay, lets pick Singapore. Recently two young female Italian swimmers, who were in the country for a competition, were caught shoplifting some cosmetics at an airport store. The Italian embassy helped them so all they got was six-months probation and are banned from entering Singapore for life.
Compare that to shoplifting in Canada where paying for items in our stores has become optional. What life lessons are we teaching our young?
By the way, Singapore is a democracy, its offical language is English and it too was a British colony.
Try shop lifting in Japan.
As far as Finland goes, it is so far away, and few here speak or read the language, so it is very difficult to know how successful they are. Nor do they have the same meth and fentanyl drug problems that we have.
If you read the offical reports on BC drug addictions and how the provincial government is responding to it, would not all those reports make it sound like BC is leading the world in drug addition care and Harm Reduction? Sure it would.
I just finished reading a new 95-page report published by the University of Western Ontario and various social agencies in London on the topic of the homeless problems in that city. Only half-of-one page had any information worth reading. The rest was propaganda written with the intent of pushing their agenda.
Another point. The Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled that research materials, surveys and the like written by activist "experts" can be so tainted by bias that they have no place in a court of law.
I completely agree- and this is as an academic!- that reports like the UWO one should be evidence-based/objective, but often aren't even useful as toilet paper on this topic. One government commissioned 'rigorous' program evaluation of so-called safe supply trials had me so apoplectic that I lost count of the 'manys' or 'mosts' after getting to 100. It was so shamelessly biased that I use it as an example of how NOT to do program evaluation in my classes. Thank heavens for scholars/health practitioners such as Julian Somers, Launette Rieb, Sharon Koivu, and Vincent Lam- all incredibly brave and caring people willing to shout into the void until people listen.
Why are you comparing Canadian drug policies to Europe? It would be far better to compare our drug policies with Asian countries who have over 100 years experience in having to live with drug addictions.
In China, for example, every addict is given involuntary drug addiction treatments. Drug importing and dealing are extremely serious criminal offences. Addicts are not allowed to die on the streets.
Our streets are becoming dangerous.
You are right. Are public libraries suppose to be institutions for learning or are they resources for the homeless, the drug addicted and the mentally ill. They can't be both. Pick one or the other. If they don't make the choice, the general public will do it for them by staying away.
Agree with a lot of your response (and always to most of BtN pieces), but not sure comparisons to non-democratic countries like China are a better comparison than some W. European countries. China was also able to quickly and dramatically reduce mortality, esp kids, over a few decades; many millions of kids not starving to death. They didn't need to go through our onerous democratic processes. Not sure we have that 'luxury' in Canada. In addition, some countries such as Finland try to make library spaces truly inclusive and even have some limited sleeping pods for folks. I don't think public spaces should be exclusionary- but they must enforce social contracts that used to include not shooting up near city fountains or in hospital rooms..... this is not a drug issue. It's a function of deeply torn and disintegrating social fabric that causes 'the least among us' to go cuckcoo.
Okay, lets pick Singapore. Recently two young female Italian swimmers, who were in the country for a competition, were caught shoplifting some cosmetics at an airport store. The Italian embassy helped them so all they got was six-months probation and are banned from entering Singapore for life.
Compare that to shoplifting in Canada where paying for items in our stores has become optional. What life lessons are we teaching our young?
By the way, Singapore is a democracy, its offical language is English and it too was a British colony.
Try shop lifting in Japan.
As far as Finland goes, it is so far away, and few here speak or read the language, so it is very difficult to know how successful they are. Nor do they have the same meth and fentanyl drug problems that we have.
If you read the offical reports on BC drug addictions and how the provincial government is responding to it, would not all those reports make it sound like BC is leading the world in drug addition care and Harm Reduction? Sure it would.
I just finished reading a new 95-page report published by the University of Western Ontario and various social agencies in London on the topic of the homeless problems in that city. Only half-of-one page had any information worth reading. The rest was propaganda written with the intent of pushing their agenda.
Another point. The Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled that research materials, surveys and the like written by activist "experts" can be so tainted by bias that they have no place in a court of law.
I completely agree- and this is as an academic!- that reports like the UWO one should be evidence-based/objective, but often aren't even useful as toilet paper on this topic. One government commissioned 'rigorous' program evaluation of so-called safe supply trials had me so apoplectic that I lost count of the 'manys' or 'mosts' after getting to 100. It was so shamelessly biased that I use it as an example of how NOT to do program evaluation in my classes. Thank heavens for scholars/health practitioners such as Julian Somers, Launette Rieb, Sharon Koivu, and Vincent Lam- all incredibly brave and caring people willing to shout into the void until people listen.
News item today. Campbell River has a of ODs this month due to toxic drugs
The advice, use drugs with friends and test them if you can. RIDICULOUS
How about. STOP USING THESE TOXIC DRUGS OR THEY WILL KILL YOU.. CALL THE POLICE AND TURN IN THE PEOPLE WHO ARE KILLING YOU WITH THESE DRUGS.
We have gone mad. No wonder Mr T has struck a chord in the US.