Prairie Harm Reduction is responding to federal Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre’s comments on supervised consumption sites, arguing they’re not based on research.
Last week, the Conservative leader took aim at the sites and the organizations that run them.
“You call them experts. They’re not experts. They’re expert only at one thing, and that is perpetuating the drug crisis. Their policies have been implemented for the last nine years and we see the results,” the Conservative leader said.
He added that he would like all funding cut to the sites and that the focus should be moved to treatment and recovery.
“That’s what you’re doing when you say safe supply, it’s heroin-grade opioids that they want to give out and it is being diverted to kids. It’s not safe. Since this policy was enacted, we have seen overdose rates more than double across Canada,” Poilievre said.
Prairie Harm Reduction, a Saskatoon supervised consumption site and drop-in centre, said his statements are not based on the research that has been done on such sites.
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It added that safe consumption sites could even include bars and clubs.
“Harm reduction isn’t just about safe consumption sites,” executive director Kayla Demong said. “If you wear a seatbelt in your car today, that’s harm reduction. If you have a drink with your friends in a bar, that’s a safe consumption site, right? That is using alcohol in a place that’s way safer when alcohol used to be prohibited and was illegal.”
Prairie Harm said the research shows that supervised consumption sites reduce overdose deaths by having medical professionals around to immediately intervene, reduce disease transmission by providing clean equipment and safe disposal options, increase connection to treatment services as staff can provide referrals and assistance in accessing supports, and will help improve public safety and cleanliness by offering a safe place for drugs to be consumed and disposed of.
Prairie Harm said it has saved more than $40,000 in ambulance rides and hospital costs for the province due to the care it can provide at the site without needing EMS or hospital care for overdoses.
“And the true story — and we have lots of research that supports this — is that substance use is a symptom and it’s often a symptom of trauma. And we don’t have the supports in place to treat the trauma,” Demong said.
“We often think that just sending people to treatment is the solution, but it really is not treatment as part of a continuum of care. But without that full continuum, people are not going to be successful.”
Prairie Harm encourages Poilievre and his party to visit a safe consumption site and learn more about them and how they operate.
It asks that he and his party read the “overwhelming evidence” of the efficacy of the sites and stop “perpetuating myths and misconceptions” regarding the sites and addictions.
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