Vancouver city council has approved more funding to help deal with drug overdoses.

A total of $370,000 has been earmarked for harm reduction measures and support for first responders following a charged debate Wednesday (February 6).

The tense deliberations started in the morning, and resumed in the afternoon, which saw accusations of “bullying” and worse.

In the afternoon, councillor Melissa De Genova asked why big drug dealers seem to be getting away with murder by distributing opioids laced with the deadly fentanyl.

She wanted to know what law enforcement actions are being done to go after major sources of fentanyl.

Referring to the nine people who died of overdose in Vancouver on December 15 last year, De Genova said that if the same number of people were murdered by one person, the city would have gone hunting for the killer.

The statement by De Genova, who belongs with the opposition Non-Partisan Association, triggered a response from councillor Andrea Reimer of the administration Vision Vancouver party.

Reimer said that if nine people were indeed killed by a single person, “that person was an elected official”.

Reimer was obviously referring to the opposition by the NPA against the additional 0.5 percent property tax incorporated in the 2017 city budget to deal with the overdose problem.

“Each elected official,” according to Reimer, is “culpable” for deaths from the overdoses because of inaction.

This prompted De Genova to raise a point-of-order against Reimer’s characterization, saying it was “so offensive”.

“I believe that councillor Reimer just called me a murderer,” De Genova said.

The NPA councillor was cut off by Reimer’s Vision colleague and councillor Heather Deal, who was chairing the meeting.

“You weren’t named” Deal told De Genova, ruling out the NPA councillor’s point-of-order.

That wasn’t the end.

NPA councillor George Affleck said that he was "very concerned" about what Reimer has said about politicians who vote based on their belief and philosophy.

According to Affleck, he found Reimer’s statement about politicians being culpable for deaths as “bullying”.

“They’re very threatening to me,” Affleck said.

Reimer defended her action when it was her turn again to speak.

“I spoke only to factual issues,” Reimer said.

Affleck wasn’t done. When his turn came again, Affleck said that Reimer’s statement was “unbelievably disrespectful”.

According to Affleck, that was the "most inappropriate thing" he has heard in his political life.

Reimer insisted that politicians are “culpable” by failing to act, and that their actions “lead to people’s deaths”.

Reimer had at one point during the debate became very emotional and teared up.

Drug overdoses claimed the lives of 215 people in Vancouver in 2016.