130 search results for
Substance users
Recommendation 26:
Amend the BC Human Rights Code and Residential Tenancy Act to make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of social condition including class, poverty and drug use.
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Recommendation 13:
Amend the BC Crown Counsel Policy Manual to include a policy on “Conditions of Release” that:
- aligns with the Criminal Code requirement that an accused be released unconditionally unless their detention or the imposition of conditions is justified;
- reflects Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence requiring that conditions of release be minimally onerous and that every imposition of more restrictive conditions must be individually justified; and
- takes into consideration the potential harms of imposing certain conditions on some individuals based on their social condition, race, ability status, housing status, and substance use.
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Recommendation 2:
Alternatively, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions should establish an independent Mental Health Advocate to monitor the performance of public services that impact people with mental health and substance use-related health issues, receive and act on systemic disability related complaints and protect the human rights of people living with illness who access services.
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Recommendation 5:
All government actors and health care providers must recognize the specific and indispensable expertise of people with lived experience. Increase peer-run and peer-delivered services and peer-support positions within government services by:
- developing a provincial advisory board of people with lived experience of homelessness for BC Housing;
- establishing provincial best practices for engaging people with lived experience of poverty, homelessness, and substance use in service delivery modelled on GIPA (Greater Involvement of People living with HIV/AIDS), MIPA (Meaningful Involvement of People Living with HIV), and NAUWU (Nothing About Us Without Us) principles;
- collaborating with peer-led organizations to audit all provincial services (hospital, health, income assistance, shelter, housing) to identify and fund opportunities for peer engagement in service provision and planning; and
- developing a model for peer-involvement in the design and execution of homeless counts.
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Recommendation 31:
All government actors and health care providers must recognize the specific and indispensable expertise of people with lived experience. Increase peer-run and peer-delivered services and peer-support positions within government services by:
- developing a provincial advisory board of people with lived experience of homelessness for BC Housing;
- establishing provincial best practices for engaging people with lived experience of poverty, homelessness, and substance use in service delivery modelled on GIPA (Greater Involvement of People living with HIV/AIDS), MIPA (Meaningful Involvement of People Living with HIV), and NAUWU (Nothing About Us Without Us) principles;
- collaborating with peer-led organizations to audit all provincial services (hospital, health, income assistance, shelter, housing) to identify and fund opportunities for peer engagement in service provision and planning; and
- developing a model for peer-involvement in the design and execution of homeless counts.
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Recommendation 30:
Address the health and safety harms associated with substance use and provide equitable access to all forms of health care for those who use substances.
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Recommendation 6:
A Provincial Policy on police attendance at overdoses which includes:
- a directive not to attend at drug overdose calls, except where requested by Emergency Health Services—usually in the event of a fatality or threats to public safety; and
- a clear statement that the role of law enforcement at the scene of a drug overdose is to deliver first aid if they are the only responders available, or to protect the safety of Emergency Health Services and members of the public, not to investigate the individuals or circumstances at the scene unless police determine that there is an urgent public safety concern, for example, if violence is occurring at the scene.
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Recommendation 5:
A Provincial Policy on harm reduction which should include:
- a directive to deprioritize simple possession of controlled substances and an overview of the harms of confiscating substances (including alcohol) from people with addictions and limited resources;
- a directive to never confiscate new or used syringes, naloxone, and other harm reduction and overdose prevention supplies;
- a statement that harm reduction supplies, whether new or used, are not a basis for search or investigation; and
- a directive that local police forces work with service providers to develop bubble zones around safe consumption sites, overdose prevention sites, and other harm reduction sites, taking into consideration policing practices that may deter access including visible presence, arrests in close proximity, undercover operations in and near, and surveillance of people using the service.
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Recommendation 4:
A Provincial Policy governing police interactions with intoxicated persons, in partnership with people who use drugs and people living with alcoholism, and fund the implementation of the Policy. This Policy should make it clear that:
- police interventions with a person who is intoxicated must be minimally impairing on liberty and officers must make the security of the person (health) the paramount consideration in determining whether to apprehend an individual;
- city cells are not the appropriate place to bring an intoxicated person for their own safety or other therapeutic reasons. Alternatives to detention including, but not limited to, sobering centres, hospitals, and other community-based options must be made available; and
- where an intoxicated person must be brought into cells, their health care needs shall be paramount and health care visits will be mandatory.
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Recommendation 15:
- Ensures an Indigenous lens and leadership role in developing a culturally responsive plan to support Indigenous programs and governments.
- Ensure adequate mental health, substance-use, life-skills, employment and education supports for youth.
- A strategy to incentivize coordinated supports at local levels.
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