Canada

City: Prince George

Organisations: PEERS (People Empowering Everyone’s Rights)

There will be a public rally at the Prince George Courthouse with speakers including a mother who lost her son to the opioid crisis, two care providers, four peers who have experience in the war on drugs. There will also be information tables: OAT, Take Home Naloxone, BC Civil Liberties Association. Additionally there will be chalk drawings and community organizations present.

 

 

City: Whitehorse, Yukon

Organisations: Blood Ties Four Directions Centre

Banner drop outside of the legislature buildings from 8am-9am and a photobooth and petition signing station from 11:30-1:30 downtown Whitehorse.

 

 

 

City: Montréal

Organisations: Association pour la défense des droits et pour l’inclusion des consommateurs-trices du Québec (ADDICQ-Montréal)

As part of the international support campaign. Do not Punish., The Montreal chapter of the Association for the Defense of Rights and for the Inclusion of Consumers of Quebec (ADDICQ-Montreal) will have a major demonstration for the decriminalization of all drugs on Tuesday 26 June.

 

City: Vancouver

Organisations: Canadian Association of People who Use Drugs (CAPUD); Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP); Moms Stop the Harm

There will be a rally at the constituency office of Jody Wilson-Raybould, Canada’s Minister of Justice. The day wil focus on the current opioid overdose crisis in Canada and there will be a reading of an open letter to the Ministry of Justice in which 5 demands will be laid out.

 

 

City: Sudbury, Ontario

Organisations: Réseau ACCESS Network | HIV/Hepatitis Health and Social Services

There will be an event for Overdose Awareness Day but the group wants to highlight Support, Don’t Punish.

 

 

 

City: Edmonton

Organisations: AAWEAR

There will be a street fair where youth will come and perform spoken word, hip hop, live music and poetry. There will be snacks and information tables with local advocates and a network of people who use, supporting the day and providing info. The day will highlight the current situation in the Philippines and the goal is to bring more mainstream attention to the devastating situation facing the people who use drugs there.

City: Sudbury

Organisations: Réseau ACCESS Network

Group and individual photos with Support. Don’t Punish signs & t-shirts, distributed on agency social media, as well as individual’s professional social media accounts.

City: Whitehorse

Organisations: Blood Ties Four Directions Centre

 

A banner drop was held  outside of the legislature building in the morning from 7:45-9am while commuter traffic was arriving into the city. The banner said “Support Don’t Punish” and had the location of the later event on it. At 11:30  a table downtown Whitehorse was held where  information about the campaign was gave out and people were encouraged to sign a national petition for decriminalisation of personal possession and send a postcard to the local Member of Parliament. There was also a photo booth where people could pledge their support.

Social media was used to promote the day and published the photos from the photo booth after the event. A media release  was sent out the day before to all local media. CBC Radio, CKRW and the Whitehorse Star covered the day and  an op-ed  was published on the topic in the Yukon News earlier in the week.

A discussion group on Support Don’t Punish  was held with clients and the photo booth , postcards and petition were brought back to the office for clients to sign and pledge their support.

 

Media articles:

Activists want ‘war on drugs’ ended  

In Edmonton, there was a great show of support from MomsStopTheHarm, a local advocacy group who have lost loved ones due to the overdose epidemic. Streetworks, Edmonton’s harm reduction programme, and AAWEAR (Alberta Addicts Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly) collaborated together with support from the Support Don’t Punish campaign to put on an event with live art making, live musical performances and guest speakers.

Media Coverage:

Round House Radio 98.3, 26 June 2017: Rally at Victory Square to change federal laws around substance use

In Edmonton, events were held in a park, including a live mural painting and music with a local hip-hop group.

In Montreal, Activists gathered in front of the Palais de Justice to take group photos in support of the campaign.

In Ottawa, activists raised awareness on the need for a ‘good Samaritan policy’ to protect people from prosecution when they call emergency services in case of an overdose.

In Toronto on 17^th June, attendees at the 2^nd  National Conference on Charting the Future of Drug Policy in Canada took photos and shared their thoughts on the meaning of supporting people who use drugs and what they would like to see in terms of drug policy reform in Canada.

In Red Deer, the team of Turning Point – a local charity based in Alberta that aims at ostering healthy responses to HIV and related issues, through support, education and research – participated in the campaign’s photo project.

Video by Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policies  

Media coverage

• The Star: Portugal’s drug decriminalization could set example for Canada
• The Globe and Mail: Philpott orders streamlined review of antidote for opioid overdoses
• National Post: ‘We had nothing to lose’: How Portugal solved its ‘catastrophic’ drug woes through decriminalization
• Ottawa Citizen: Good Samaritan law key to supporting, not punishing drug users: advocates

In Ottawa, PROUD worked with other community agencies on a “Ticket Defence Day” on 25^th June with lawyers and students in Minto Park, to raise awareness around the criminalisation of people who use drugs, and to speak out against the provincial Safe Streets Act. In Toronto, a gathering was held at the South Riverdale Community Health  Centre by the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy,​ the I​nternational Centre for Science in Drug Policy,​ J​ac’s Voice,​ F​ed Up,​ and t​he Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.​ Attendees listened to speakers discuss the international and local impacts of punitive drug policies, particularly on vulnerable populations, and participated in a march down Queen Street to increase awareness of “Support. Don’t Punish” to the broader community. In Montreal, AQPSUD organised a gathering  in Parc Lafontaine on Cherrier street.

Harper hates harm reduction #insite #supportdontpunish

A video posted by @glennbetter on Jun 26, 2015 at 10:44am PDT

 

Annually Over 1K state executions for drug offenses #supportdontpunish #harmreduction

 

A video posted by @glennbetter on Jun 26, 2015 at 10:30am PDT

Video clips of the day:

Media Coverage

• Canadian Students for Sensible drug policies: #supportdontpunish
• Canadian Students for Sensible drug policies: 10 Ways to Make a Difference
• Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policies: Toronto does #supportdontpunish
• Cannabis in Canada: Don’t Punish: Global Day of Action Scheduled for June 26
• Toronto Media Co-Op: Toronto joins global call for drug policy reform

Across the capital city Ottawa,  the PROUD Project hosted a summer forum to highlight the campaign and provide materials and information. Participants were also encouraged to write their own messages on Support. Don’t Punish posters, which were then put up in neighbourhoods across Ottawa to raise awareness.

Media coverage:

• Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policies Blog: Support. Don’t Punish