Outside a rural Saskatchewan elementary school on a fall morning in 2020, Paul Wilson and three others parked their truck and called 911 as a woman they were with experienced a fentanyl overdose.

When police arrived, paramedics were already treating the woman. A Mountie who responded to the scene smelled marijuana from the vehicle and noticed a baggie which looked like crystal meth on the ground outside the driverSA国际影视传媒檚 side door.

Wilson was arrested for drug possession, and a search later turned up a bag with guns, false identity documents and a quantity of SA国际影视传媒渁pparent drugs.SA国际影视传媒�

Wilson was convicted on multiple gun charges in 2022, but the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal found the drug possession arrest was unlawful under CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 Good Samaritan law, which is meant to shield people from arrest after they seek help for someone in medical distress.

The thorny legal questions raised by the case are now set to be tested in the Supreme Court of Canada, and harm reduction advocates say the case will determine the future of the current Good Samaritan law.

The hearing Tuesday will hear arguments on the powers of police to arrest people at the scene of a drug overdose, and whether the 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, said Monday that Wilson and others with him SA国际影视传媒渄id the right thingSA国际影视传媒� by calling for medical help, likely saving the personSA国际影视传媒檚 life.

Larkin said 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 SA国际影视传媒減athSA国际影视传媒� to clarify the lawSA国际影视传媒檚 public health purpose.

SA国际影视传媒淭hese laws need to be clear and easily understood. If anyone (is) needing to take action in an emergency, they need to know the risk they face,SA国际影视传媒� Larkin said. SA国际影视传媒淵ou shouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 need a law degree to understand what will happen if you call 911.SA国际影视传媒�

The groups, including the Harm Reduction Nurses Association and the Association of Addiction Workers of Quebec, held a briefing Monday to outline their role as interveners in the case and to highlight the legal issues at play.

They claim the high courtSA国际影视传媒檚 decision will have national ramifications for people who call 911 for overdoses and whether theySA国际影视传媒檙e safe from arrest if they remain at the scene.

Corey Ranger, president of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association, said the organization provides naloxone training for overdose prevention, telling those they train that the Good Samaritan law will protect them from arrest at the scene of an overdose.

SA国际影视传媒淲e tell people that you must stay with the person who overdosed, that leaving them behind is a risk for death,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚f our education has to change SA国际影视传媒� weSA国际影视传媒檒l see a lot more people abandoned at the scene of an overdose.SA国际影视传媒�

Ranger and Larkin said the groups are intervening in the case, fearing that a lack of clarity in the Good Samaritan law will cause people to delay or avoid calling 911 for overdoses, or leaving the scene in fear of being arrested when police arrive.

SA国际影视传媒淚f we want fewer workers finding people dead in tents, alleyways, public restrooms, then we must not compromise on the Good Samaritan provision,SA国际影视传媒� Ranger said.

Lawyer Maxime Bedard said the SA国际影视传媒減rimary questionSA国际影视传媒� the high court panel will have to answer is whether police can legally arrest people for simple drug possession at the scene of an overdose, as Wilson was back in 2020.

Wilson was arrested for the offence, but not charged with drug possession, though police used the initial arrest as a pretext for the search that turned up the guns that led to the firearms charges.

Larkin said the groups hope the Supreme CourtSA国际影视传媒檚 decision in the case will provide a SA国际影视传媒済uiding lightSA国际影视传媒� to courts across the country.

SA国际影视传媒淭he court has the opportunity to decide this case in a way that provides a beacon for other courts so that we can prevent harm, so that we can save the lives of our loved ones and our community members,SA国际影视传媒� Larkin said.