BC United leader Kevin Falcon is calling decriminalization 鈥渁 risky experiment,鈥� that will put children at risk in communities around the province.

The opposition leader spoke to media Wednesday during a visit to Abbotsford, alongside Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman.

鈥淚 keep asking them, 鈥榝or God鈥檚 sake, just make the right decision and put some guardrails in place鈥� so that this risky experiment of theirs doesn鈥檛 become a total disaster,鈥� he said regarding the recent decriminalization of small amounts of drugs.

鈥淎t a minimum we have to protect our parks, playgrounds and beaches, especially as our kids are coming out of school in the next few weeks,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e cannot have them exposed to open drug use of heroin, crack cocaine, fentanyl and all the other dangerous drugs that could affect our children.鈥�

BC United MLAs want to see those areas protected in the same way schools are, where open drug use is prohibited.

That suggestion, he said, is coming from municipalities who feel the decriminalization is 鈥渢one deaf鈥� to what is happening in communities across the province.

鈥淲e have more mayors and councils stepping up here and saying they want to put bylaws in to prevent drug use in parts of public places,鈥� he said, including Kamloops and Nanaimo.

But a provincewide ban would make more sense than offloading the work to municipalities, Falcon said.

鈥淭his is an easy decision,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hy are we having to argue with them for months about doing something that鈥檚 so obvious?鈥�

It鈥檚 just one of the topics he鈥檚 talking to people about as he travels around this spring, as well crime, housing and 鈥渟ocial chaos and disorder.鈥�

鈥淭he situation is disastrous,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 awful. It鈥檚 the worst I鈥檝e ever seen.鈥�

British Columbia has the highest average rents in Canada, the highest housing prices in North America, and there is no change on the horizon, he added.

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