There is one apparent gain from incoming U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat against Canada and Mexico: it has thrust the drug addiction and access issue back to the forefront of the national conversation.

Trump on Nov. 25 threatened Canada and Mexico with a 25-per-cent tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. if those countries didn't strengthen border controls, and while most of the media focus has been on illegal migrants, the movement of drugs across the border is drawing attention.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “fully reverse his radical liberalization of drugs.”

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“I don’t want to stop drug overdoses to please Donald Trump,” said Poilievre during a Nov. 26 media availability. “I want to stop drug overdoses so there is not one more mother with her face buried in a pillow sobbing that she just lost her kid after 47,000 other Canadians have died — that is more than we lost during the Second World War.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, B.C. Premier David Eby and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew have also issued statements about the need to specifically clamp down on cross-border drug trafficking.

If Canadian leaders are looking for solutions to combat the drug problem, Catholic organizations dedicated to helping people in the throes of crippling addiction crises have potential solutions.

Aklilu Wendaferew, executive director of Good Shepherd Ministries, wrote in an email to The Catholic Register that “all levels of government need to provide more funding to support the expansion of both abstinence-based and harm-reduction programs.” Wendaferew also advocated that “focus must also be placed on working on the key issues related to social determinants of health including addressing poverty, housing issues, food insecurity, etc.”

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Good Shepherd Ministries’ Drug and Alcohol Recovery Enrichment (DARE) program has functioned as a pre- and post-detox abstinence-based regimen since 1997. The addict receives a place to stay, meals, counselling and other case management services as they await treatment. More than 200 people a year are served through this program.

Mildred Moy, the founder of Catholic Street Missionaries in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, said she has witnessed the consequences of a government’s push to sanction drugs.

In January 2023, a provincial exemption to the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act came into effect in B.C., which removed penalties for adults possessing small amounts of illegal substances like opioids and cocaine for personal use. Yet just 15 months later, in April, the government moved to recriminalize drugs in public spaces after news cycles were besieged with unsettling stories of usage in hospitals, parks and bus stops, on top of the steep increase in drug-related deaths.

Moy said she “never really bought” any of the arguments about how decriminalizing was going to spawn positive change. She said by not considering the long-term, generational consequences of a potential policy, tremendous damage can be done.

 “I’ve heard stories of international students coming to Canada and dying because of overdoses,” said Moy. “A lot of teenagers using weed and other drugs become addicted and they end up going through hell before they recover. Their brain is fried already because their brain is still young. When politicians come up with laws they must think about the next generation. Some people would not go down the (drugs) route, but (decriminalizing) makes it so much easier for anybody to get the drugs. We are affecting a lot of future people that would never go near drugs.”

Moy said a specific action she would like the government to make is to supply more funding for detoxification beds so that a person seeking recovery is not hamstrung by a lack of healing resources.

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Through the combined presence of Catholic Street Missionaries and its non-profit collaborator St. Mary’s Street Ministry, evangelists seek to converse with over 100 homeless people in Vancouver per week.

It remains to be seen if the Trudeau government will do enough to beef up border security in the eyes of Trump, but already the PM has met with provincial premiers on the matter and on Dec. 3 was meeting with opposition leaders to brief them on the government plans. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency are providing a list of items that could enhance existing capabilities at the border, including drones or helicopters equipped with infrared censors and night vision.