Federal addictions minister awaiting more details from B.C. before making decriminalization decision

Ottawa wants more data on rates of substance use, treatment capacity and how police would confront people using illicit drugs in public as Health Canada considers B.C.’s request to recriminalize open consumption in places such as parks and beaches.Jennifer Whiteside, British Columbia’s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, said in the legislature Wednesday that her office had responded within hours to her federal counterpart’s call for this extra information before Ottawa amends the drug law exemption underpinning the province’s pilot project in decriminalization.Neither the province nor Ya’ara Saks, federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister, released copies of Wednesday’s official correspondence, but Ms. Whiteside’s ministry sent a statement saying the information included “data on substance use and care as well as possible guidance to police.”