Victoria police chief says new B.C. system could be as important as DNA testing in advancing policing
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A pilot project will use cutting-edge chemical analysis and artificial intelligence to trace the origin of illegal drugs and provide up-to-date information on the changing supply on B.C. streets.
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The “track and trace” pilot will last two years, with a cost of $600,000, and is a partnership of Aidos Innovations, UBC researchers and police departments in B.C.
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Victoria Police Chief Fiona Wilson said it could allow police to better target organized crime by leading them to production facilities where illicit substances are being produced. She likened it to how DNA changed the game for policing.
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“Track and trace does not just identify what a substance is,” said Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger. “It helps us understand how it is made and where it is likely to move next by combining chemical analysis with a growing data platform to reconstruct production methods and anticipate how harmful supply is evolving across communities.”
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Krieger added that the focus will be on targeting organized crime, not tracking or criminalizing individuals who are using drugs themselves.
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“We can’t reliably determine whether drugs found in different communities come from the same source, and we often cannot link overdose trends to changes in supply quickly enough,” Wilson said. “This initiative begins to change that by analyzing the unique chemical fingerprints of illicit drugs. We will be able to compare samples across time and across jurisdictions.”
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Matthew Roberts, managing director of Aidos Innovations, told The Canadian Press that the system doesn’t just identify drugs but uses a robot to detect a broad spectrum of chemicals, which allows AI to calculate the “recipe” that makes up particular batches of drugs.
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“We can actually back calculate the method of production,” he said. “So, this goes well beyond typical drug-checking sort of technology.”
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Health Minister Josie Osborne said that having better knowledge of the drug supply will also help first responders by providing greater clarity about what toxic additives could be in somebody’s system and potentially allowing them to save more lives.
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While toxic drug deaths decreased in 2025, the government is seeing an uptick in toxic additives such as benzodiazepines so far in 2026, which can make life-saving measures such as naloxone less effective.
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In the 10 years since the toxic drug crisis was declared a public health emergency, over 18,000 British Columbians have died from either an overdose or toxic drug poisoning.
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Critics of the government say the move to better track the flow of drugs is a good step, but one that is long overdue.
