Image: Conservative Party of B.C. / Á'a:líya (A’aliya) Warbus, the B.C. Conservative MLA candidate for Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, says the declaration of a state of emergency in the Port Hardy area by the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations after 11 of their members died in two months from the use of hard drugs and alcohol serves reinforces her belief that the province needs to crack down on the availability of hard drugs. 
Conservative Party of B.C.

Chilliwack MLA candidate urges B.C. NDP to end access to hard drugs, safe supply

Mar 6, 2024 | 2:28 PM

CHILLIWACK — The declaration of a state of emergency in the Port Hardy area by the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations after 11 of their members died in two months from the use of hard drugs and alcohol serves as a stark reminder that the provincial government needs to crack down on the availability of hard drugs, according to the B.C. Conservative candidate for Chilliwack-Cultus Lake.

“This tragic news confirms how absolutely deadly and heart-sickening this issue is for British Columbians — especially in Indigenous communities,” said Chilliwack resident Á’a:líya (A’Aliya) Warbus. “While I acknowledge that there are complex issues at play here, including challenges with RCMP on reserves, it is nonetheless clear evidence of the drug-fueled genocide of Indigenous people that is happening under this BC NDP government.”

Warbus says there needs to be a coordinated approach to end what she calls so-called safe supply and crack down on criminal cartels that are bringing fentanyl into British Columbia.

“That’s hard to do when we have a Liberal Prime Minister and an NDP Premier who are soft-on-crime and support the myth of so-called ‘safe supply,'” says Warbus. “And where is the Province on this? Clearly, Premier David Eby is in cahoots with Trudeau. This NDP government got federal permission to push its own ‘safe supply’ of deadly drugs, and is soft on gangs that push street drugs like fentanyl. Now we have more deaths than before.”

Warbus, the daughter of former B.C. Lieutenant Governor Steven Lewis Point, is a mother of three and has a Fine Arts Masters in film production. She has worked professionally as the director of cultural communications at the Stó:lō Xwexwilmexw Government. She has also worked as a professor at Capilano College in the Indigenous Digital Film department.

Warbus says poor and predominantly Indigenous communities in Canada are being treated as expendable.

“We need to focus on prevention, rehabilitation, and creating hope for people, instead of giving up on them,” Warbus said. “These same politicians who push ‘safe-supply’ would never let their own children stay addicted to a ‘safe supply’ of hard drugs that cause permanent brain damage — they would get them into rehabilitation. The NDP’s approach is gutting our communities, and it has to stop. As our elders have stated to me, ‘How can we plan our future, when our young people are dying before us?'” Warbus concluded.