'Increasing the stigma': Advocates call out Edmonton police chief for comments on meth
The Edmonton Police Service confirmed last week that crime is on the rise in 2022, and the city’s police chief pointed at methamphetamines as a contributing factor.
“The bigger concern in relation to violence for us is meth,” Dale McFee said on Aug. 4.
“Meth keeps you awake; you’re violent. Normal people do not normal things.”
But advocates are pushing back, saying blaming drug users only helps the stigma to thrive.
“I think making statements like that is very dangerous for the people that are out in the streets. I think you’re painting them all with one brush,” said Angie Staines of 4B Harm Reduction Society.
Staines says her son is a user, but she leads an outreach group too.
“We’re building relationships and trust where there isn’t a lot of trust right now.”
“I have conversations with meth users numerous times an evening when I’m out there, and do not feel threatened. Absolutely is there situations that I make sure that I distance myself from? Absolutely. But to paint a whole community, that is increasing the stigma and stigma kills.”
While McFee did acknowledge there is a difference between the vulnerable on the street and those committing crimes, Staines says it’s not enough.
She says people on the streets prefer to deal with social agencies instead of police.
“Of course the police play a role and they need to, but we need to do more with working with agencies."
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Joe Scarpelli.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.