The politics of the toxic drug crisis

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Front Burner

Voices from the frontlines of the toxic drug crisis in Vancouver, as federal parties spar over harm reduction programs.

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

A closeup photo of a hand shows a pile of blue steel-like pills and purple pills in small zip-lock bags.

Fentanyl is pictured during the first day of decriminalization of people in Vancouver, British Columbia on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Front Burner35:03The politics of the toxic drug crisis

The Conservative party has promised $200-million a year to fund addictions recovery care for 50,000 people, according to the party's platform. Leader Pierre Poilievre has also vowed to "defund drug dens" – imposing strict new rules for overdose prevention sites and supervised consumption sites.

Liberal leader Mark Carney has said that his party would review the effectiveness of such sites, while the federal NDP supports them.

So given all of that…who's left fighting the toxic drug crisis? How did harm reduction programs become so politically unviable? And what does that mean for drug users?

Front Burner senior producer Elaine Chau brings us this documentary from Vancouver – ground zero of an overdose crisis that's now wreaked havoc across the country.

Make sure to watch our election night livestream on Monday, April 28 starting at 8pm Eastern. You can find it here on the CBC News YouTube channel and on the CBC News TikTok.

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