Who’s actually happy with BC’s decriminalization? Basically no one

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Good morning,

By the time you read this, I will be in Palm Springs! I’m just here for a few days, seeing some family, but it will be nice to get away from my various obligations as a freelancer and to get a bit of sun. (Though, being a ginger, I will also be doing a fair bit of hiding from the sun!)

In today’s issue, you can find a look back at the year of decriminalization and another depressing Rental Market Report for Vancouver.

— Dustin Godfrey

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WEATHER

Friday: 10 🌡️ 5 | 🌤️/🌧️

Saturday: 9 🌡️ 4 | 🌤️

Sunday: 8 🌡️ 3 | 🌤️

Monday: 7 🌡️ 2 | 🌤️

DRUG POLICY

The year of decriminalization

This week marks one year since a decriminalization pilot project was launched in BC, and it seems nobody’s particularly happy with it, including the government. Why is that? Well, to borrow a phrase from a famous (by which I mean fictional) scientist: Criminalization, uh, finds a way.

This also comes against the backdrop of a toxic drug crisis in which more than 2,500 people died from the unregulated drug supply in 2023, bringing the total since a public health emergency was declared in 2016 close to 14,000.

Safe supply still lacking: It should also be noted that decriminalization itself isn’t really a tool for reducing deaths from a toxic drug supply, but rather an acknowledgment that criminalization does more harm than good. Reducing deaths, advocates have long argued, can only be accomplished by addressing the drug supply.

• But as much of the last year has seen declining access to prescribed safer supply in BC, according to nurse Corey Ranger, the province has been steadfast in its refusal to provide de-medicalized options.

Re-criminalizing won’t save lives: In a statement marking a year since decriminalization on Wednesday, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside noted that ending the project won’t save “a single life,” noting the point of it is to reduce stigma against drug users and encourage them to reach out for help if it is needed.

• But those onside with harm reduction have long railed against the decriminalization pilot project, calling it an inadequate half-measure, due to the low possession limit of 2.5 grams — well below the 18-gram threshold suggested by the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.

Harm reduction publication Filter Magazine argued the threshold was set for police, who had argued for a 1-gram limit, not those who use drugs, with one VANDU member telling the magazine 2.5 gram is “breakfast for a guy like me.”

Policing still the focus: In a 2020 report, Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police argued decriminalization shouldn’t result in a reduction in their budgets, saying they should still be enforcing trafficking and possession, as well as referring drug users to services.

• In their report, Beyond Prohibition, the BC Health Coalition and Canadian Drug Policy Coalition said handing the role of service referrals to police, rather than social service or healthcare workers, when police have long been the enforcers of laws that harm drug users, “serves to inflate their budgets, while simultaneously minimizing community services.”

Decline in arrests: As noted in the Georgia Straight in December, there was a 76 percent drop in drug possession charges since decriminalization. But that doesn’t necessarily mean other day-to-day impacts of policing have also been contained, including drug seizures without arrest, which come with their own harms.

The First Nations Health Authority did note in an internal BC government report I’d written about in December that people were experiencing fewer or no drug seizures by police.

‘Media frenzy’: There has been a narrative that decriminalization is driving increasing public drug use, but without firm evidence, the issue has become a “they-said-they-said” argument, described in one Interior Health peer survey as a “media frenzy.”

• The debate, however, rarely seems to take into account a 32 percent increase in homelessness in Metro Vancouver in 2023, compared to 2020. Health authority reports I’d obtained last year showed little, if any, evidence of this being an issue, with law enforcement in one reporting no adverse effects.

Still, the argument has been persuasive enough to the BC NDP for the government to effectively renege on its decriminalization project with a sweeping public drug use ban.

Public use ban: This brings us to the last month or so. The BC NDP’s law against public drug use has been polarizing, and the discourse over the court decision last month has been one infused with misinformation, including that drug use is allowed in playgrounds and that the judge is barring government from any regulations on public drug use. As I argued last month on Substack, neither claim is true.

Two more years: With the program still two years out, and with the court battle over the public drug use law ongoing, including an appeal by the province of the temporary injunction, much more information will be made available over time. The question that remains is: how much will actually be learned?

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VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🏒 23: That’s how many points the newest Canuck, Elias Lindholm, whose trade was announced this week, has this season, including nine goals over 49 games so far. The Canucks traded Andrei Kuzmenko, a 2024 first round pick and more to get Lindholm. [TSN]

💸 $0: The property transfer and empty homes taxes on a waterfront West End suite, according to a real estate ad. That’s because it’s not a regular condo but an equity co-op. This type of unit doesn’t require property transfer taxes, as it’s considered a share purchase rather than a strata unit purchase. [Vancouver Sun]

💰 $25,000: The amount of Arc’teryx merchandise taken during a robbery in Vancouver, according to police, who say they arrested two suspects. [CTV]

RENT

Another damning Rental Market Report for Vancouver

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation put out its annual Rental Market Report, and it once again paints a grim picture for Vancouver.

You’re telling me: Anyone who has looked for a rental in the last year probably won’t be surprised to learn that vacancy rates hovered at 0.9 percent in October 2023 — the same as the year before. While this is the lowest in the country, Ottawa is the only other of the six major cities whose vacancy rates didn’t decline (there, it remained flat at 2.1 percent).

Or as the CMHC footnotes puts it: The change in vacancy rate “isn’t statistically different than zero.”

The national average for population centres of at least 10,000 people tightened from 1.9 percent in October 2022 to 1.5 percent this last October, according to the report, with Edmonton and Calgary showing the most dramatic declines, dropping from 4.3 percent to 2.4 percent in the former and 2.7 percent to 1.4 percent in the latter.

Supply growth: Among six major cities, Vancouver saw the third-highest growth in the rental market supply, at 2.7 percent, trailing Edmonton’s 3.7 percent and Calgary’s 6.2 percent and topping the national rate of growth, at 1.7 percent.

Paying more in rent: The increase in average rents for a two-bedroom unit in Vancouver similarly were third-highest among the six cities, at 8.6 percent. It trailed Calgary’s 14.3 percent growth in average rent and Toronto’s 8.8 percent, according to the report, which pinned the national average at 8 percent.

For purpose-built rental units, that netted an average rent of $2,181 for a two-bedroom, compared to $2,580 for a two-bedroom condo on the rental market.

Demand remains high: The report points to “record immigration” to BC, putting “further pressure on the rental market, since recent immigrants tend to be renters.” But it also noted that high mortgage costs “likely delayed some home purchases,” meaning more potential buyers were likely staying in the rental market.

This takes us back to the question of how interest rates impact inflation in the housing market, with Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives economist Marc Lee pointing last summer to a Statistics Canada report showing that increasing mortgage costs through interest rates increases is a primary contributor to inflation.

THE AGENDA

👮 Another tent city in Vancouver is under threat of eviction. This time, it’s the Marpole Mutual Aid Network that says an encampment in that area of the city was given a day to get out on Thursday. [Vancouver Sun]

🤝 A second, longer and potentially broader work stoppage for TransLink bus supervisors has been avoided — at least for now, as CUPE Local 4500 and the Coast Mountain Bus Company have emerged from mediations with Vince Ready with a tentative deal in hand. This avoids a Friday deadline for a 72-hour work stoppage that, pending a Labour Relations Board decision, also expected Friday, could have also halted trains. [Vancouver Sun]

🚌 Speaking of the strike, TransLink and its subsidiaries applied to the LRB to declare transit services essential. You can read our write-up on a 2015 Supreme Court of Canada decision and the right to strike in Canada in our Wednesday newsletter. [Global]

🪧 The LRB found the Coast Mountain Bus Company violated labour law. The company redeployed staff to bolster some transit operations, like the SkyTrain, which the LRB’s vice-chair found violated restrictions against the use of replacement workers to perform duties by members on strike. [Vancouver Sun]

🔥 A fire in an SRO on the 1500 block of Powell Street, caused by “smoker’s materials” related to drug use, displaced eight people. Vancouver Fire Rescue Services said the fires “happen daily when critical housing is needed.” [Twitter]

🚨 A 15-year-old girl was hit by a driver in a grey Mercedes while crossing West 16th Ave. near Wallace St., in the Point Grey area Tuesday, leaving her with “serious and life-altering injuries,” according to VPD. [Global]

EVENTS GUIDE

Lunar New Year Puppet Show | Vancouver Public Library | Today, 3:30 pm | A way to celebrate the Lunar New Year with kids aged 3 and up | More info here

Lunar New Year Market | UBC Botanical Garden | Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm | Over 30 local makers, artists, crafters and food trucks at this year’s event | Tickets $8

Taboo | Vancouver Convention Centre | Feb. 2, 3 and 5 | Maybe don’t take your kids to this one | Tickets $33

Dine Out Vancouver | Various locations across Vancouver | Until Feb 4. | Try multiple course tasting meals at some of Vancouver’s best restaurants | Prices per meals vary

The Real Greek, proper cooking | 2665 Renfrew St., La Salle College Vancouver | This Saturday, 6 pm | Come learn how to make your own Greek food, including spanakopita, moussaka and more | Tickets $113

Amplify Chinatown: Community Banner Making Workshop | Sun Wah Centre - 4th Floor | This Saturday, 2 pm | Bringing together the community to create protest and celebration banners for the community | Free

Sina Bathaie Live | Rickshaw Theatre | Today, 7:30 pm | Toronto-based Iranian composer & multi-instrumentalist Sina Bathaie with Siavash Mahdavi on percussion | Tickets $47

Kendall Gender presents KENAISSANCE | Junction | Tonight, 9 pm | A Kendall Gender experience inspired by Beyonce’s iconic Renaissance world tour | Tickets $18

FOOD

🍗 If you heard the term “burgeoning scene,” what scene would you picture? If you’re thinking of fried chicken, well, you’re on to something. The Filipino chain Jollibee opened its fourth Metro Vancouver franchise this week, and this article lists all kinds of other examples, from Kitsilano to Commercial Drive to Chinatown. [Vancouver Sun]

🍽️ Dine Out Vancouver is back, and it couldn’t come at a more urgent time for the restaurant industry. Nearly 400 restaurants are participating this year, as restaurants experience the typical January dip in customers. One owner said their weekly reservations increased 100 percent after Dine Out started. [CityNews]

🐉 With Lunar New Year upon us, the Taste of Chinatown! event also approaches! The three-day festival, running Feb. 9-11 over 16 blocks in Chinatown, features culinary delights, special promotions and a Lunar New Year Parade. [Taste of Chinatown!]

☕️ Self-described “world’s most popular coffee publication” Sprudge has a guide to Vancouver’s coffee shops. We’ll be the judge of that. [Sprudge]

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A rainbow — and blue skies!? — graced Vancouver this week.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Major clothing brand Club Monaco has shut down its two-storey flagship Vancouver store on Robson Street. The closure came suddenly after 20 years at the location. [CBC]

• Do you ever go to a department store and think: What five things do I not know about this mysterious shopping format in Vancouver? Well, Vancouver Is Awesome has you covered. [VIA]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

VANCOUVER WORDLE

Everyone’s feeling the pinch these days, but the subject of today’s Wordle may be feeling it most of all. See if you can get it.