Ontario calls on Toronto to drop 'disastrous' drug decriminalization request
CTV
The province’s health minister and solicitor general are urging Toronto to rescind its request to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use, calling the proposal 'misguided' and 'disastrous.'
The province’s health minister and solicitor general are urging Toronto to rescind its request to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use, calling the proposal “misguided” and “disastrous.”
In a letter to Toronto’s outgoing Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa, Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones and the province’s Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said that “under no circumstances” would the provincial government support Toronto Public Health’s decriminalization application, which is currently under review by Health Canada.
“We read with interest recent comments in the media that Toronto Public Health has not received a ‘formal indication’ from the province opposing your misguided request to decriminalize dangerous illegal drugs,” the letter read.
“While our government has already been perfectly clear on multiple occasions, please consider this as formal as possible: Ontario is 100 per cent opposed to your proposal.”
The letter went on to suggest that such a policy would “add to crime and public drug use” while failing to support people with addiction.
The city made a request to Health Canada in early 2022 for an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. That application has come under a microscope in recent weeks after British Columbia opted to scale back its decriminalization pilot.
“We are frankly surprised that, in the aftermath of British Columbia’s decision to walk back its decriminalization experiment, Toronto Public Health has not already rescinded its request," the letter states.
This year’s hard winter weather likely left significant damage for many homeowners coming into spring. Building and renovation expert Ryan Thompson spoke to CTV’s Your Morning about some of the biggest areas to focus on around the exterior of your home, to help prevent serious damage after the cold, hard winter.
Iranians are managing to get online during the current war with the U.S. and Israel despite drastic censorship and frequent blackouts, throwing the spotlight on to providers of tools such as VPNs (virtual private networks).
March is Nutrition Month, and two Ottawa dietitians joined "CTV Your Morning Ottawa" to mark the occasion and share three sample performance plates for three different levels of activity.
Dozens of models with Down syndrome strutted down a catwalk at a fashion show in Romania’s capital for an evening celebrating style, “atypical beauty” and courage to mark World Down Syndrome Day.
Hawaii suffered its worst flooding in more than 20 years as heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago, officials said Friday while warning that still more rain was expected during the weekend.
While Canada is well known for its accomplishments in space — including building the robotic arms used on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station — the country still has no ability to launch its own satellites. This week, Ottawa committed nearly a quarter‑billion dollars towards changing that.
March is Liver Health Month, and while many people think about alcohol and diet when it comes to liver health, a growing risk factor is chronic hepatitis B.
It’s an enduring stereotype that Canadians are unfailingly nice, quick to apologize even when they have done nothing wrong. But an online urban legend claims the opposite of Canada’s soldiers, painting a picture of troops so brazen in their brutality that international laws were rewritten to rein them in.
Friday marks the first official day of spring in the northern hemisphere, but it will still feel like winter this weekend for many Canadians, as snow, sleet, rain and sub-zero temperatures are forecast across the country.
A social media post from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week shows a big-eyed macaque staring out from behind bars.
Young people in southeast England and beyond are lining up for the meningitis B vaccine after an outbreak killed two people, sparking supply warnings from pharmacies and raising broader questions about the best public health response to the disease.
Many wage earners are engaging in “microshifting,” a flexible scheduling approach that involves tackling job duties in short, productive bursts instead of a single nine-to-five stretch.
Tyson Atleo, a hereditary leader of the Ahousaht First Nation, says the creation of three new forestry areas to be managed by his community and two others on the west coast of Vancouver Island marks the realization of a long-standing promise.