This may seem cold hearted, but why should taxpayers dig deeper in their pockets to address the fentanyl overdose problem?
The City of Vancouver recently approved a 0.5 per cent property tax increase to support first responders in dealing with the spike in opioid overdoses.
We certainly hope Okanagan taxpayers are not subjected to such a tax considering they are already taxed to death. Sun tax plus living tax plus drive-to-the-corner tax plus . . .
The number of opioid overdoses in BC is alarming. There were 622 apparent illicit drug overdose deaths from January to October 2016, according to a report from the BC Coroners Service. This is a 56.7 per cent increase over the number of deaths (397) that occurred during the same period in 2015.
The number of illicit drug overdose deaths (63) in October 2016 is close to the average number of illicit drug overdose deaths for the past 12 months (61.3). And fentanyl-detected deaths appear to account largely for the increase in illicit drug overdose deaths since 2012.
Yes, it is definitely a growing problem, but why should the taxpayer be on the hook for it?
Let’s not kid ourselves, though. Taxpayers are already paying for services provided to drug addicts, including the Naloxone kits that reverse the effects of an overdose. But to make homeowners pay extra on their property taxes is wrong, not to mention unfair.
Drug users initially choose to experiment with their drug of choice, knowing that they could become addicted to it. When they do it’s no longer a choice because they have to have it.
Taxpayers should not be penalized for people’s drug habits. Instead, the courts need to come down much heavier on these drug dealers who are directly responsible for these overdoses. They’re the ones who should be paying, not the taxpayer.
But it’s so much easier for governments to go after easy prey – the people they have tabs on, the people who have fixed addresses, and the people who try to make an honest living and pay their taxes – us!
The taxpayer is getting tired of always taking the brunt of these things. We’ll pay taxes for municipal services, we’ll pay taxes to help vulnerable children and other worthy causes, but don’t ask us to pay taxes for illicit drug users when the dealers are running rampant making a ton of money in their drug houses that miraculously continue to do business in our communities.
Lyonel Doherty, editor
