Japan, Canada and the Drug Crisis: Time For A Hard Line

By Mr. ‘X’ ~ John Mutton, Former Mayor of Clarington When I travelled to Japan for the World Championships, I saw something that stayed with me long after the competition ended. Japan has people who experience homelessness, just as Canada does. But the visible street disorder and open drug use that have become familiar in too many Ontario communities were strikingly different from what I observed. That does not mean Japan has solved homelessness. Some people there lose their housing after layoffs, financial setbacks or family breakdown. Homelessness can be less visible, and a visitor cannot judge an entire country from a short trip. Still, the contrast raises an uncomfortable question: why have we accepted the scale of public drug use and street disorder we now see at home? Canada has two overlapping crises, and we need the courage to distinguish them. One is the affordability crisis. Housing costs, rent, groceries, fuel and economic insecurity can push working people and families to the edge. People who cannot afford a home need practical housing solutions, not criminalization. The other is a devastating addiction and illegal-drug crisis. Families are losing loved ones. Businesses and residents are dealing with disorder. Emergency workers are repeatedly called to the same scenes. And too often, public debate treats any demand for enforcement as a lack of compassion. Japan takes a much tougher legal and cultural stance toward illicit drugs. Canada has chosen a different mix of harm reduction, treatment and enforcement, including supervised consumption services and, in some settings, prescribed alternatives to toxic street drugs. Supporters argue these measures prevent overdoses and connect people with care. Critics question whether the overall approach has done enough to restore safety and help people recover. My position is clear: Canada needs a hard line against the illegal drug trade and against open drug use that makes public spaces unsafe. Dealers and traffickers should face serious consequences. Police need clear authority and resources to enforce the law. Courts need meaningful options that protect the public. I favour zero tolerance for illegal drugs in public spaces. But simply putting every person caught possessing or using drugs in jail, without assessment or treatment, is unlikely to end addiction. Where addiction drives repeated offences, the justice system should be able to mandate closely supervised treatment and recovery programs, with custody where the law and circumstances justify it. Accountability and rehabilitation must work together. We also cannot pretend that enforcement alone will lower rents, build housing or create stable employment. Governments must tackle the affordability crisis with the same urgency they bring to public safety. A person displaced by the cost of living should not be lumped together with an organized drug dealer. What I saw in Japan reminded me that the conditions we have come to accept in Canadian communities are not inevitable. We can insist on cleaner, safer streets. We can demand stronger action against dangerous illegal drugs. And we can help people get back on their feet instead of leaving them to deteriorate in plain sight. Compassion without accountability is not a complete policy. Neither is punishment without a path to recovery. Canada needs both—and it needs the political will to act.