Canada鈥檚 Federal Court has agreed with British Columbia鈥檚 minister of mental health and addictions that she should be a respondent to a court challenge against the province鈥檚 decision to dial back its drug decriminalization policy.

The court says in a ruling issued this week that Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside should be added to the challenge originally filed in June by a coalition of non-profit groups including the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.

The groups are seeking a judicial review, saying the decision to recriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use violates drug users鈥� Charter rights and 鈥渕aterially increases鈥� their risk of death.

The changes sought by B.C. and granted by the federal addictions minister in May narrowed where people are allowed to possess drugs, namely in designated health-care clinics, private homes and where unhoused people are legally sheltering.

The advocacy groups opposed adding Whiteside to the case, but the court rejected their argument, saying it was she who formally requested the changes.

The ruling says the new exemption is 鈥渋ntegral鈥� to B.C.鈥檚 response to the toxic drug crisis.

鈥淚t follows that if the new exemption is quashed, the provincial minister will be prejudicially affected in a direct way because her ability to carry out a key function of her ministerial role, namely, implementing the province鈥檚 multi-faceted strategy in response to the toxic drug crisis, will be significantly compromised,鈥� the ruling says.

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