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The proposal to increase Vancouver property tax by 0.5 per cent to deal in some unspecified way with the fentanyl crisis is either stupid or a clever, but cynical, political sleight of hand.

Let’s start with stupid.

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Health and drug policy are the responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments, both of which have much greater access to the resources and levers needed to deal with this crisis that began in Vancouver and is spreading quickly across the country.

I grant that the desire to do something about fentanyl may be well-meaning — nobody wants people dying on the streets.

But the city has no plan, even though fentanyl was declared a public health emergency last April. Even if it did have a plan, no attempt appears to have been made to find money from somewhere within the proposed budget that will already result in a substantial tax increase.

So, I’m leaning toward the second option: Clever, cynical politics.