The tragic death of young Mathis in late December 2023 brought the overdose crisis back to the forefront and, with it, calls for the decriminalization of drug possession. In Montreal, however, these calls come up against an unusual obstacle: almost no actor opposes the decriminalization of drugs, but nothing is done to implement it and thus reduce the risk of overdose.
As we explained in an open letter in October 2022, drug decriminalization is an essential action that is part of the broader harm reduction movement. Under this approach, drug decriminalization reduces overdose deaths, provides better access to services for people who use drugs, slows the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, and reduces stigma. associated with drug use.
The more it changes, the more it is the same
Although drug laws are governed by the federal government, cities and provinces can act to decriminalize drugs within their borders by requesting an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — as the City of Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia and the City of Toronto.
The City of Montreal is officially for the decriminalization of drugs. In 2021, city council passed a motion supporting decriminalization of possession at the federal level, but without committing to taking action at the municipal level. Since then, the Projet Montréal administration has repeatedly stated its intention to use municipal powers to decriminalize drugs. For example, in August 2023, Valérie Plante declared, during a meeting with more than 30 community organizations, that her administration “wishes to continue the work” to decriminalize drugs in the metropolis. However, concrete actions are slow to be taken by his administration.
Experts secretly sidelined
Since then, certain community organizations that work in harm reduction have learned that the City had created a committee of experts to move the issue forward. Although these organizations participated in the August meeting called by the City, none were directly informed about it or invited to participate. During the December 18 city council meeting, the City Without Overdoses Coalition asked a question about this committee. Josefina Blanco, elected representative of Projet Montréal and responsible for diversity and social inclusion, responded that a committee had indeed been created and that it was made up of the Diversity and Social Inclusion Department, the police of the City of Montreal (SPVM), the Montreal Regional Public Health Department and two researchers, that Mr.me Blanco did not see fit to name.
The City’s approach to drugs is a profound insult to the populations most affected by the overdose crisis, namely the users themselves, who are therefore the greatest experts on the subject. Faced with the urgency of the situation, and for several years now, people who use drugs, the associations that represent them, harm reduction organizations and several groups of citizens have been demanding that Montreal ask the federal government to decriminalize drugs on his territory.
In this regard, the Montreal community even got involved in a working committee led by the City of Montreal in the winter of 2022. Given the lack of consideration for the voices of people affected by the policies put forward by the City, these groups demanded that people who use drugs be better involved in the process and that a consultation on the subject be carried out by the community, for our communities. This request was refused and the committee abandoned.
Rather than working with community groups to create a real committee of experts, the Projet Montréal administration instead chose to create a committee on the sly without involving the people directly affected by the initiative. However, she invited the SPVM to the table, an institution that harasses and endangers these people every day. It is obvious that such a project can only succeed with the expertise of the people and organizations involved. A mayor who so often affirms her past ties to the community should know the fundamental democratic principle of “nothing about us without us”.
Montrealers deserve concrete actions
Three years after a municipal council motion supporting decriminalization, the Projet Montréal administration has shown no commitment to moving the issue forward or working with affected communities to do so. It supports decriminalization (in principle) and obstructs its achievement (in practice).
Faced with this, we demand: 1. a commitment to request a federal exemption within the next six months; 2. the addition of five community organizations to the committee of experts; 3. the withdrawal of the SPVM from this committee.
* Co-signed this letter: Ken Monteith, COCQ-SIDA; Joseph Jean-Gilles, GAP-VIES; Charlene Aubé, IRIS Estrie; Nadia Joannides, GEIPSI; Valérie Parisé, The dispensary; René Obregon-Ida, Rue action prevention (RAP Jeunesse); Line St-Amour, Full middle; Maxime Bonneau, PACT de rue; Vincent Roy Landry, RAP Jeunesse; Guillaume Tremblay-Gallant, Quebec HIV/AIDS Portal; Julien Montreuil, L’Anonyme; Emilie Renahy, ACCM — AIDS Community Care Montreal; Alexandre Fafard, Sidalys; Tania Charron, West Island Youth Action (AJOI); Olivier Gauvin, Table of Montreal community organizations fighting HIV/AIDS; Magali Boudon, GRIP prevention; Valérie Samson, The Estrie replica; Lateef Martin, Miscellaneum Studios; Alexandre Dumont Blais, RÉZO; Adrienne Pan, QPIRG-Concordia; Manu A, Collective opposed to police brutality; Alexandra Pontbriand, Street Specter; Sandra Wesley, Stella, Maimie’s friend; Stéphanie Dubé, Uniphare; Éric Dubé, Quebec Sexual Health Network for the Deaf; Chloé Cébron, Doctors of the World; Claude Lalande, Maison Plein Coeur; Martin Pagé, Dopamine; Christopher, Soul Meta.