Report on decriminalization says Saskatoon police have 'embraced' rethink around drug possession

A new report says Saskatoon police have "embraced" a shift around illegal drug possession, moving toward recognizing drug use as a public health concern as opposed to focusing on punishment, but one advocate says it unfairly suggests a decriminalization pilot was a failure.

On Thursday, the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners received a report it asked for in June, looking at the landscape of drug decriminalization on a national level and how the Saskatoon Police Service deals with enforcement around personal use of illegal drugs.

In 2020, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police called for a public health-led approach, and called on federal lawmakers to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of illegal drugs for personal consumption.

Federal legislation passed in 2022 amended the Controlled Drug and Substance Act, specifying that "problematic substance use should be addressed primarily as a health and social issue."

The legislation says police should use discretion with people caught with illegal drugs, relying on warnings or referral to services for help instead of charging them.

The report presented to the Saskatoon Police Board Thursday also delved into the three-year pilot by the federal government that granted B.C. an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, allowing the province to decriminalize possession of certain illegal drugs for personal use. 

B.C. recriminalized the use of drugs in public places in April, radically altering the pilot program.

The B.C. decriminalization pilot "was not having the results they had hoped for," the Saskatoon report says.

"Opioid toxicity deaths in the province of B.C. had not decreased through 2023, and the unintended consequences of open public drug use consumption became concerning for public safety."

In a statement last month, the Canadian police chiefs' association said it also no longer supported the decriminalization of any amount of illicit drugs for personal use, citing the results of the B.C. pilot.

The Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police said in Nov. 29 statement that it supported that decision.

The report says with the national policy change in 2020, the Saskatoon Police Service was invited in 2021 by the Saskatoon Tribal Council to help make a harm reduction-focused drug awareness program.

Saskatoon police Chief Cameron McBride also said the department works with organizations like Prairie Harm Reduction.

Referrals to the tribal council's drug awareness program are low, according to the report, but charges laid over the past five years significantly dropped.

A chart included in the report shows around 300 drug charges were laid by Saskatoon police in 2024, down from more than 700 in 2020.

"It is quite clear that our [police] service, as a whole, has embraced the shift in mindset of illicit drug possession from using punitive measures to recognizing that drug use is a public health concern," said the report.

Decriminalization unfairly dismissed: advocate

The report concludes that while the police service will reinforce training around substance abuse as a health and social issue, rather than a criminal one, "decriminalization alone is not sufficient."

"Unfortunately, without our community having a holistic multi-partner approach, with treatment services being readily available to those who are experiencing substance use disorder," police are "extremely limited in guiding those in need to treatment," it says.

But Guy Felicella, a harm reduction advocate based in Vancouver, argues the report is misguided in suggesting decriminalization was a failure.

He argues there wasn't enough time and attention paid to implement sufficient services to support decriminalization.

"The problem is that we're pointing fingers at something that we had just started."

Decriminalization wouldn't change the fact that there is a toxic drug supply, which had led to 53 deaths in Saskatoon this year as of last week, said Felicella.

"However, what it does do is it stops people from being arrested for possession of small amounts of substances that comes with a criminal record, which leads to further complications," he said.

He also said there is a lack of harm reduction services in Saskatchewan, which can act as "the bridge point" to recovery and treatment services.

Kayla DeMong, the executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction in Saskatoon, said there are gaps in resources she sees, like the lack of 24/7 services.

But "housing is the hugest need and biggest gap," said DeMong.

"All of our services can only go so far if people don't have a home to live in."