John supports and will work towards:

1. Legalization of a safe source, government controlled system that we currently provide for alcohol and marijuana users
2. To work toward a foundation and society that actively funds research to find a cure for addiction
3. To bring awareness through lived experience -‘nothing about me without me’
4. Will not be tied to party policies
5. Believes that science, research and evidence based results should drive policy, not the net gain of voters 
6. Remove gas tax, which is an unfair tax for those that may have no other choice than to use their vehicle for daily living
7. The Comox Valley is over governed and needs to be amalgamated 

Addiction & Substance Use

     The reality of supporting our Federal Drug Policy of the Prohibition of Drugs is it is the single biggest factor contributing to over 42,000 preventable deaths in our country since 2016. This policy 100% supports Organized Crime as the sole provider of toxic substances across our country. This policy is also the biggest source of wasted tax dollars, decade after decade, that has produced no positive change in our community.

     I am against people dying a preventable death and I do not support Organized Crime and know investing wasted tax dollars into services that support drug, alcohol and mental health issues in our communities will have a far bigger and more positive effect rather than our current war on drug users.

 The enforcement of substance use laws cost Canada’s criminal justice system $10 billion in 2020 and these costs have continued to rise without a change in the daily death toll or toxic drugs being in our community. 

1. Our son Ryan (26) was poisoned and died from the toxic source of drugs.
2. Ryan had just completed 8 months of recovery when he relapsed and died on his job site during his lunch break. He was a 3rd year electrician.
3. Ryan, along with the vast majority of the over 14,000 British Columbians and the over 42,000 Canadians would be alive today if Organized Crime was not the sole provider of toxic drugs.
4. Vast majority of people who have died from toxic drug supply were in the prime of their life.
5. Majority of them died in their own residence
6. Over 125 youth have died from toxic drug supply from 2018-2023
7. 60% of youth deaths are females, aged 17-18
8. These innocent lost lives are from all communities and from all ages
9. Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by the toxic drug supply
10. Recovery would not have saved the 125 youth who have died, the 26 people who have died on university, college and high school grounds nor will it save first time users, recreational users and the vast majority of chronic users for many reasons.
11. The reality of recovery, that solution that all parties will stand in front of to address the toxic drug deaths, are not being acknowledged. The reality is that over 92% of opioid users will relapse and when this normal component of the disease of addiction occurs, it is not planned and the user’s tolerance will be lower than before they went into recovery.
12. When relapse occurs, those fighting addiction will have to get what their body demands from Organized Crimes. 
13. What other disease do we allow Organized Crime to fill prescriptions people need?
14. The majority of Recovery Centers are for-profit businesses that the families have to pay for
15. Our family members fighting cancer can become cancer free. Those fighting addiction - a disease that affects more people than cancer -can never be addiction free.
16. Although recovery facilities have been instrumental in the sobriety of many, it has to be based on more than a faith based, 12 step program model that was introduced over 90 years ago. Science and medical intervention need to be funded to address and cure addiction. 
17. We need to have a Canadian Addiction Research Society that raises vast funds, or medical awareness and for working towards finding a cure.
18. Youth need better education in schools by people with lived experience to the realities of substance use, harms, harm reduction and deaths caused by all drugs, including alcohol
19. Alcohol is normalized and celebrated and given a free ride when acknowledging harms and other drugs are criminalized racialized and covered in stigma
20. This toxic drug crisis is not an addiction crisis. It is a death crisis. Shame on all parties for choosing votes over lives. If anything is criminal, it’s this mass poisoning that is being allowed to continue because our political parties choose to ignore it.
21. We don’t have a choice if we want drugs in our communities. The only choice we have is who supplies them to our community members. 
22. Government can supply a safe and regulated legal supply, like it does for alcohol, tobacco and marijuana (and for gambling sites) or we can continue to allow Organized Crime, with their guns, violence and deadly substances, continue to kill our loved ones
23. Our federal drug policy, the prohibition of drugs, is a fantasy policy that has been an absolute failure for over 60 years.
24. These costs will continue to climb and Organized Crime will continue to thrive with our policy support that ensures they are the only supplier across our country.
25. Drugs, like alcohol, have and always will be a part of life, so we need a policy -‘legalization’- that will address this reality

“What has gotten us into this situation we’re in is prohibition.

We’ve seen that in many different situations over time.

We saw that with alcohol prohibition. We have seen it with cannabis.

I think legalization and regulation minimizes harms.”

BC Provincial Health Officer

Dr. Bonnie Henry

June 6 2024

Environment

1. Work towards ending our reliance on fossil fuels
2. Climate change is real. Difficult choices have to be made for current and future generations. 
3. Creativity and innovation are crucial to have lasting change on large scale
4. Indigenous nations and industry must have equal part to play in policy making
5. Provide monetary incentives for businesses and people to incorporate improvements where they live and work.

Education 

1. Current diverse classrooms need more support for all students’ learning and emotional needs to be met
2. Expand physical and health education to increase all forms of exercise and sport, starting with elementary students through high school 
3. One size education doesn’t fit all, so we have to provide neurodiverse affirmative spaces, educators and practices.

Health Care

1. I supported vaccines and mask wearing during COVID
2. Hire back healthcare workers that were unvaccinated to help address workers shortage
3. Support Canada medical licensing to support physician and nurse mobility in Canada
4. Remove restrictive retraining requirements for immigrants with valid medical certificates
5. Subsidize physical activity for all - the more we invest in health, the less we need to invest in more costly health care support
6. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimated that cost of fall related injury among the over 65 population is roughly 2.8 billion dollars per year 
7. Extend comprehensive and free dental care to all living at or below poverty line

Economy and Jobs

1. Expand our vast natural resources in an environmentally sustainable way to help create jobs and drive our economy
2. Expand our LNG resources to reduce the huge coal consumption in China, India and other large countries.
3. LNG is an ideal transition towards a lower carbon future
4. 80% more natural gas will be required over the next 20 years in China, India and SouthEast Asia in order to displace their high carbon producing coal burning
5. Indigenous nations and industry need to be equally represented in forestry, fishing, farming and mining policy making, working to protect the environment while giving the industries the ability to prosper
6. Small businesses cannot keep implementing government policy that does not acknowledge the vulnerability or sustainability to the businesses.
7. Independent consultation of small businesses needs to help keep and grow the many jobs in our community, as they are the backbone of our Comox Valley economy.
8. Married to Jennifer for 36 years. Jennifer’s a Vice Principal, teacher and Right Brain Reading creator
9. Raised 3 children, helped coach many teams
10. Ownership in 2 small business 
11.  TJM Contracting - Logging Road Construction 
12.  C&N Tool Rentals - Equipment, Sales, Service
13. Recovering alcoholic 37 years sobriety 
14. I do not have all the answers but will do my best to seek those that have the expertise to address my lack of knowledge
15. Will not give an answer that purposely avoids the question 
16. I don’t believe any one party brings all the right policies but I do support polices from all parties that benefit all British Columbians and not just a party’s base.

Some links to include:

https://drugpolicy.ca The Canadian Drug Policy Coalition (CDPC) is a policy advocacy organization comprised of around 50 organizations and over 7,000 individuals striving to end the harms of drug prohibition. It operates as a project within Simon Fraser University in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Our vision is for a safe, healthy, and just Canada in which drug policies and legislation, as well as related institutional practices, are based on evidence, human rights, social inclusion, and public health principles. The CDPC seeks to include people who use drugs and those harmed by the war on drugs in moving toward a healthier Canadian society free of stigma and social exclusion

Our mission is to advance and realize drug policies grounded in compassion and guided by science, and shift the public narrative on substance use and people who use drugs. Internationally, the CDPC provides key engagement at the United Nations level and participates in national processes focusing on international drug policy issues.

"Arresting and incarcerating millions of people in recent decades has filled prisons and destroyed lives and families without reducing the availability of illicit drugs or the power of criminal organizations."

—Changing the Frame: A New Approach to Drug Policy in Canada

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/death-review-panel/an_urgent_response_to_a_continuing_crisis_report.pdf

“A comprehensive, culturally safe system of substance use education, prevention, harm reduction, treatment and social support was needed before the public health emergency was declared. It is still required to address the crisis today.

"Such a system is complex, costly, and time-consuming to develop, implement and expand. This will require time we simply do not have, as more than 13,000 people have died since the public health emergency was declared ni BC.,. and dozens more die each week.

"It is estimated that as many as 225,000 people in BC.. remain at risk of unregulated drug injury or death.

"The immediate priority for action must be on elements of that system that can be rolled out quickly in order to save lives now. As the primary cause of the current crisis is the unregulated toxic drug supply, our urgent attention must be on creating access to alternatives to the unregulated drug supply for people who use drugs".

- Michael Egilson, Chair, Death Review Panel

https://csuch.ca/documents/infographics/english/CSUCH-Canadian-Substance-Use-Costs-Harms-Infographic-2023-en.pdf

https://www.fnha.ca/what-we-do/mental-wellness-and-substance-use/harm-reduction-and-the-toxic-drug-crisis/toxic-drug-crisis-data

electjohnhedican@gmail.com