Alberta officials have issued an ultimatum to the federal government: repeal lenient drug prosecution policies or allow the province to take control of the prosecutions.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Justice Mickey Amery sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and federal Justice Minister Arif Virani outlining their concerns and demands.
igr-Letter-to-PM-from-Premier-20250210“Unfortunately, the problem of drugs and drug-related crime in Canada has been seriously exacerbated by policies adopted by the federal government,” reads the joint letter.
The provincial leaders added that the United States is exploiting the problems. They said that the federal government and its prosecutors’ failure to address the fentanyl crisis in Canada has led to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recently pledged to impose life sentences for large fentanyl dealers. He also called to deport temporary residents involved in violent or hate crimes.
Of particular concern to Smith and Amery is a directive issued in 2020 by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which instructs prosecutors to divert minor drug cases from the courts. The province argues this policy has allowed serious criminal activity to persist unchecked.
The letter also called for the repeal of Bill C-5. The bill removed mandatory minimum penalties for drug trafficking, drug importing or exporting and drug production, with the goal of addressing disproportionately high incarceration rates for black and Indigenous Canadians.
Ron Moore, a New Brunswick Conservative MP, previously tabled Bill C-394, the Stronger Sentences for Safer Streets Act, which would re-introduce mandatory minimum jail sentences for some drug offences.
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Alberta demands Liberals fix soft-on-crime drug policies or let province take over prosecutions
