Letters to The Vancouver Sun: The plebiscite question we need, says doctor

Re: Vancouver council approves ABC’s public-safety plebiscite questions for October ballot

On Aug. 14, city council approved two plebiscite questions to be added to the ballot for the municipal election in October. These deal with a proposed interdiction on hard drug use in public spaces and a conversion of portions of the old St. Paul’s Hospital to house substance-users in recovery or others with mental-health disorders.

Both questions miss the mark. As for reducing open-air drug use, it requires enforcement personnel we don’t have and can’t afford. It will lead to the levying of fines that will not be paid or the criminalization of individuals into a system that is already overextended. As for treatment beds, offering more of them makes no sense while existing beds aren’t fully staffed. As many as 30 per cent of them are currently closed due to a lack of health-care personnel to permit their full use. More beds added to the system soon will simply mean … more unstaffed and closed beds.

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Here is the plebiscite question that would be much more helpful: Does the City of Vancouver commit to working with public health and provincial authorities to develop programs to ensure that active drug-users are identified, engaged in care and provided optimal access to staffed treatment beds and dignified housing?

Dr. Brian Conway, president and medical director, Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre

Prime Minister Carney spoke to our nation to announce Canada had pulled out of trade negotiations with the U.S. and will stand firm against President Trump and his absurd tariffs in his trade war.

Our decision as Canadians to stand tall with our PM and take the economic hits coming our way must be considered a parallel to Ukraine in defending itself against Vladimir Putin, another bully.