Toronto鈥檚 bid to decriminalize the possession of illegal drugs for personal use has been plunged into uncertainty in recent days, as drug policy experts suggest political debates over British Columbia鈥檚 backtracking on the issue have hurt the city鈥檚 application.

The prime minister and the federal minister for mental health and addictions have both separately said that the city doesn鈥檛 currently have an 鈥渁ctive鈥� application for the government to consider. Toronto Public Health, meanwhile, has said its application remains with Health Canada amid ongoing discussions.

Gillian Kolla, a public health researcher, says 鈥渋t鈥檚 not at all clear what the holdup might be鈥� for the more than two-year-old application. But she worries the process has been coloured by politicization, with the 鈥渧ery fulsome鈥� bid at risk of not being judged on its merits.

鈥淭here seems to be a total lack of urgency on the part of the federal government to respond to this application,鈥� said Kolla, a Toronto-based drug policy expert.

The city made a request to Health Canada in early 2022 for an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. That application was put back under the spotlight recently after British Columbia scaled back its own decriminalization pilot program.

The B.C. government got federal approval this week to recriminalize public drug possession, a major climb down for the first-of-its-kind pilot in Canada.

Amid pressure from Conservative opposition to kibosh Toronto鈥檚 proposal, federal Minister for Mental Health and Addictions Ya鈥檃ra Saks called the city鈥檚 application 鈥渄ormant鈥� and said it has not reached her desk.

Asked to clarify, her office called Toronto鈥檚 request 鈥渋ncomplete鈥� and said Health Canada was waiting for responses to questions sent months ago about the application. The questions had to with whether the application 鈥� which is backed by Toronto police 鈥� 鈥渁dequately addressed the dual objectives of public health and public safety.鈥�

鈥淎s such, the exemption application is not at the state where it would be in front of the Minister for consideration and is not an active application,鈥� Saks鈥� office wrote in a statement this week.

The office said it would not comment on the specifics of the application when asked what questions Health Canada sent and to whom. Health Canada directed multiple requests for comment to the minister鈥檚 office.

Toronto Public Health did not respond to questions about the statement from Saks鈥� office and declined a request for an interview with the chief medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa.

The city鈥檚 public health unit has said that its application for decriminalization is still with Health Canada, calling the discussions 鈥渁ctive and ongoing.鈥�

鈥淲e are committed to maintaining an open and constructive partnership with Health Canada,鈥� Toronto Public Heath wrote in a statement earlier this week.

DJ Larkin, the executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, said 鈥渞egardless of who鈥檚 waiting on who,鈥� Toronto鈥檚 well-supported application is languishing before an overly onerous review process.

鈥淲e know that police forces and communities across the country and across the world already know that criminalization does not work,鈥� Larkin said.

鈥淏ut because we have to go through these applications for exemptions, even in a circumstance where maybe, possession laws are not being heavily enforced already, it shines a light. It creates one of those sparks for controversy.鈥�

The federal government鈥檚 pace when it comes to dealing with Toronto鈥檚 application has long garnered criticism from drug users and advocates who say it fails to match the urgency required of an overdose crisis that has left hundreds of people dead in the city every year.

Decriminalization has been publicly backed by Toronto officials since at least 2018 for its stated goal to reduce stigma and treat the overdose crisis squarely as a health issue, rather than a criminal one. Criminalizing drug possession, Toronto鈥檚 application says, only makes it harder for people who use drugs to get support.

The city sent a preliminary request to Health Canada in January 2022 and, after more consultations, updated its submission in March 2023. The proposal calls for decriminalization to be paired with a host of more direct public health responses, including scaled up harm reduction and mental health services.

The city鈥檚 proposal goes further than British Columbia, by also shielding young people from criminal charges and extending the exemption to all drugs for personal possession.

The model was co-sponsored by Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw, who described the city as already under 鈥渄e facto鈥� decriminalization in the city鈥檚 2023 submission. Officers have been directed to minimize personal possession charges and federal prosecutors had been told to only pursue the most serious cases of personal possession, such as those tied to impaired driving or posing a risk to children.

The application has nonetheless been lampooned by the province. Premier Doug Ford has promised to fight it 鈥渢ooth and nail鈥� and on Thursday the province鈥檚 associate minister of mental health and addictions called it a 鈥渕ade-in-Toronto disaster.鈥�

A spokesperson for Ontario鈥檚 health minister noted, however, that cities are free to ask for a federal exemption without provincial approval.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau鈥檚 office last week said the province of Ontario would be 鈥渞equired to support any request from Toronto, and they have not done so.鈥�

British Columbia鈥檚 recent move to recriminalize possession in public spaces marked a major change of course. Premier David Eby said the move followed police concerns that officers had limited ways to deal with public drug use, though critics argue those concerns are unfounded.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no data to link decriminalization to increased public safety issues or even increased public drug consumption,鈥� said Larkin, who is based in Vancouver.

The political debate has also inflamed fears over the topic of decriminalization, said Kolla.

鈥淓ven with legalized, regulated drugs like alcohol, we do have measures in place that to try to balance, you know, sometimes people are drunk and disorderly in public spaces and how do we deal with that,鈥� she said.

鈥淥n the flip side here, one of the worries is that we have such a long history of criminalizing people who use currently illegal drugs even if they were not causing any problems or any public disorder, that this is going to be another tool to just criminalize poverty and criminalize visible homelessness.鈥�

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