Comments on addiction made by a Calgary councillor on Wednesday have sparked some criticism from citizens.

During a committee meeting discussion on public safety concerns near a supervised consumption site in downtown Calgary, Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu stated that addiction is a “choice.”

“Addiction. We call it a disease. I get mental issues may be disease. But drug addiction … we heard why people are doing drugs — to get away from something else — but truly, it’s a choice,” he said.

Chu’s remarks sparked outrage on social media, with one person on Twitter encouraging people to call Chu’s office and share their addiction experiences.

On Wednesday afternoon, Chu tweeted that he asked the people sitting in the committee audience of they “would like to have a safe injection site in their neighbourhood” and no one raised their hand.

City council members will continue to discuss the issue on Feb. 25.

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