By Canadian Press

Harm reduction advocates hope high court will ‘clarify’ Canada’s ‘Good Samaritan’ law

Jan 13, 2025 | 2:20 PM

Harm reduction advocates say a case before Canada’s high court will test the current Good Samaritan law that protects people from arrest after they call 911 asking for help for someone who has overdosed.

The Supreme Court of Canada hearing Tuesday will hear arguments on the powers of police to arrest people at the scene of a drug overdose, and whether a 2017 law, known as the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, is clear about those powers.

Lawyer DJ Larkin, executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, says the case stems from the arrest of Paul Wilson in Saskatchewan, who was charged after he was with a group of people when one of them overdosed on fentanyl in 2020.

Larkin says Wilson and others with him “did the right thing” by calling for medical help, likely saving the person’s life, but police found evidence of drug possession and arrested him, then a subsequent search led to other charges for firearms and false identification offences.

Larkin says the Good Samaritan law is supposed to immunize people from arrest for calling for help for those experiencing an overdose, and a coalition of drug policy groups is intervening in the case to provide the court with a “path” to clarify the law’s public health purpose.

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The groups, including the Harm Reduction Nurses Association and the Association of Addiction Workers of Quebec, say the high court’s decision in the case will have national ramifications for people who call 911 for overdoses and whether they’re safe from arrest if they remain at the scene.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2025.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press