Ep. 5 - Seeking To Reduce Harm - Nathaniel Erskin-Smith, Member of Parliament for Beaches-East York

Seeking to Reduce Harm: Decriminalization, Harm Reduction and The United Church of Canada

Summary

The following podcast is the final in this series. Member of Parliament Nathaniel Erskin-Smith shares with us his engagement in harm reduction and decriminalization from within the government in power as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. He shares with us his experiences advocating for harm reduction and decriminalization services and his fight for support for people who are living with substance use disorder or experiencing death due to the toxic drug crisis in Canada. Nathaniel highlights much of what has been shared previously, and yet provides a different perspective, as he is experiencing urban Toronto stories as a member from the city.

Line Up

Introduction

Scripture Reading – John 2: 1- 12

Conversation – Nathaniel Erksin-Smith, Member of Parliament for Beaches-East York

Hymn – Deep in Our Hearts

Music by Ron Klusmeier, 1996.

Performed by Amy Lee

One License # 117654

Blessing

Considerations

- We invite you to consider the next steps in your learning? Do you feel you’ve learned enough in relation to the proposal before you? If so, how is this sitting with you? Spend sometime considering how you might engage further. If not, what do you feel you need to learn more?

Resources

Shining Waters Regional Council Message on the 50th Anniversary of the War on Drugs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1inMDuUU9Q

Books:

The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit

By Bruce K. Alexander

Fighting for Space: How a Group of Drug Users Transformed One City’s Struggle with Addiction

By Travis Lupick

Off the Street: Legalizing Drugs

By W.A. Bogart

The War on Drugs: A Failed Experiment

By Paula Mallea