A draft bylaw from Parksville council is on hold for more consultations with the medical health officer, who has significant concerns about the bylaw and the political will behind it. (The Canadian Press)

By Spencer Sterritt

moving the needle

Controversial Parksville needle bylaw on hold in favour of input from Island Health

Nov 6, 2019 | 5:59 AM

PARKSVILLE — A controversial proposed bylaw aiming to control needle distribution in Parksville is on hold, in favour of more discussions with health officials who are opposed to the bylaw.

Parksville councillors directed staff in their Nov. 4 meeting to organize a meeting with medical health officer Dr. Paul Hasselback to further tweak and review the draft bylaw on needle regulation.

Dr. Hasselback told NanaimoNewsNOW the bylaw to limit health services in Parksville is “problematic” and unlikely to be approved by the province in any way.

The bylaw seeks to require substance users exchange their needles for clean ones, make the needles handed out be retractable and also have the distributor listed on the side for better tracking.

The effort was met with swift condemnation from Dr. Hasselback, who submitted a strongly worded report to the City of Parksville about how the efforts would cause more harm than good.

Shorthanded

Clippers fall short hosting Bulldogs

4h ago

off the schedule

BC Ferries preemptively cancels early Saturday sailings

11h ago

firm handshake

B.C. NDP government, Greens reach 'shared priorities' agreement

13h ago

“When we get in these confrontational, conflictual, divisive community debates it’s actually harmful for the community,” Hasselback said.

“One thing I heard loud and clear from the council is they don’t want to see harm. What I think they don’t want to hear is that they’re actually causing harm and it’s quite clear we’re seeing harm coming from the actions they’ve undertaken recently.”

Hasselback said needle disposal boxes were recently returned to Island Health by the City of Parksville instead of being installed. Island Health data showed up to 98 per cent of needles are returned or properly disposed of in the area.

Parksville councillors also spent roughly $500,000 to retain sole ownership of a 52-unit supportive housing complex and remove the intended use of an eight-bed cold weather shelter.

Hasselback said he recognized some councillors seem to understand moving forward with the proposed bylaw is problematic, but comments from others “really reflect that the intent of the bylaw was to try to push the use of substances out of the area, which is really disconcerting because of the increases we had actually seen in substance use, the consequences of overdoses (and) fatalities in the area.”

The situation in the Oceanside area is dire enough it was selected for a Community Action Team, which is a provincial initiative bringing services together in an effort to tackle the ongoing overdose crisis.

Public engagement sessions for the team are expected to happen before the end of the year, Hasselback said.

It’s unclear when further consultation between Hasselback and Parksville councillors will occur.

The proposed bylaw will require approval from the Minister of Health before being implemented.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit