Poilievre proposes letting judges order drug treatment for addiction

Brenna Owen, Craig Lord · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 19, 2025 4:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Saturday he would alteration the instrumentality to let judges to bid cause attraction for those struggling with addiction.

Poilievre was successful Richmond, B.C., wherever helium expanded connected his plans to tackle addiction successful Canada.

His latest thought would springiness judges the enactment to bid mandatory cause attraction arsenic a substitute for incarceration.

The connection would use to offenders whose lone crimes are connected to possessing tiny quantities of drugs and different non-violent infractions.

Poilievre would besides necessitate rehabilitation programs successful prisons for much superior offenders.

Poilievre said these proposals are due successful cases wherever those struggling with superior addiction person mislaid the capableness to question betterment connected their own.

"This argumentation is not astir punishment, it's astir redemption," helium said.

"When idiosyncratic is excessively sick to take help, we won't permission them without hope. We'll assistance them instrumentality backmost power of their lives."

No questions for nationalist media

Poilievre besides repeated pledges to unopen down safer cause proviso sites and to amend the Criminal Code to enforce beingness sentences connected those caught trafficking oregon producing much than 40 milligrams of fentanyl.

The Conservative campaign, which for the archetypal clip is not allowing media to question with the run circuit and has constricted journalists to 4 questions with nary followup astatine Poilievre's property events, allotted nary questions to nationalist media outlets astatine the Richmond announcement.

Some journalists shouted questions astatine Poilievre alternatively connected Saturday, 1 of which helium addressed astir Liberal Leader Mark Carney's level merchandise earlier successful the day.

Poilievre lambasted the Liberal plan, which proposes a deepening of the national shortage and much spending to trim Canada's reliance connected the United States amid the commercialized war.

The Conservative person said Carney's program would adhd "inflationary indebtedness ... connected the backs of Canadians."

"This inflationary spending means higher taxes and higher costs of surviving and a weaker dollar," Poilievre said.