Survey Reveals 69% Opposed to a Drug Injection Site in Chilliwack-Hope

CHILLIWACK-HOPE – Mark Strahl, MP for Chilliwack-Hope, released the results from his electoral district-wide survey regarding drug injection sites today.

The survey was conducted in February 2017 and found that the overwhelming majority of Chilliwack-Hope residents who responded are opposed to a safe drug injection or safe drug consumption site opening in our community.

In the previous Parliament, the Conservative government implemented the Respect for Communities Act, which required the Federal Government to consult affected communities before allowing a drug injection site to be opened. The Trudeau Liberals are now repealing this law through Bill C-37: An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related amendments to other Acts, which is currently before the Senate.

“The response was overwhelming,” reported MP Strahl. “A strong majority of people in Chilliwack-Hope want the Federal government to consult communities before opening drug injection sites. Further, they do not want a drug injection site to open in our community at this time.”

Key Survey Findings

• Community Consultations Matter: 77% of respondents do not believe the federal government should be able to approve a “safe”/supervised drug injection site without mandatory community consultations.
• Residents Oppose Local Injection/Consumption Site: 69% of respondents do not believe a “safe”/supervised injection site should be opened in Chilliwack-Hope.
  “Many of the respondents suggested that our communities should focus on improving treatment and addictions services before considering a safe injection site,” said MP Strahl. “I will be relaying the findings of this survey to the Minister of Health and the Prime Minister and hope that the views of my constituents will be taken into account.”

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