Harm reduction, not handcuffs

Opinion

Every day in Winnipeg, Black and Indigenous people are disproportionately arrested for drug-related offences, not because they use drugs more often, but because they are more often policed.

This is a pattern rooted in Canada’s long history of racial inequality, and it continues today under the guise of “law and order.”

Meanwhile, overdose deaths are skyrocketing, and criminal records trap thousands of Winnipeggers in cycles of poverty and incarceration. We are punishing illness instead of treating it.

Winnipeg urgently needs to shift away from punitive drug enforcement and toward harm-reduction strategies that save lives and reduce racial injustice in the process.

Research has made the problem plain.

A 2020 study found that across major Canadian cities, Black and Indigenous people were significantly more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people, despite similar rates of usage across all groups. Winnipeg is no exception. Indigenous people make up only about 12 per cent of Manitoba’s population, but over 70 per cent of those incarcerated, with drug charges being a major contributor.

The legacy of colonialism and systemic racism means that Indigenous and Black communities are not only policed more heavily, but they are also given fewer opportunities for recovery and support.

Criminalization has not reduced drug use; it has simply pushed vulnerable people further into the margins.

Current drug policies, based largely on surveillance, arrest, and imprisonment, have failed. They have failed to reduce addiction rates. They have failed to prevent deaths. And they have failed to protect public safety.

A criminal record for drug possession often leads to job loss, housing insecurity, and family separation, especially for racialized individuals already facing systemic barriers. In Winnipeg, access to culturally appropriate addiction services remains limited, while funding for supervised consumption sites and harm reduction initiatives lags far behind need.

The ongoing overdose crisis reveals the human cost of inaction. According to a 2022 Health Canada report, Indigenous people account for a disproportionate share of overdose deaths in Manitoba, a direct consequence of policies that criminalize substance use rather than treating it as a public health issue.

We have a better path. Harm reduction, including supervised consumption sites, safe supply programs, and the decriminalization of simple drug possession, is evidence-based, cost-effective, and life-saving.

Supervised consumption sites, like Vancouver’s Insite, have operated for over 20 years without a single overdose death on-site.

Programs like those run by Sunshine House here in Winnipeg offer non-judgmental support, yet they remain critically underfunded compared to law enforcement budgets.

Critics sometimes argue that harm reduction “enables” drug use.

But evidence shows the opposite: harm reduction connects people to health services, stabilizes lives, and reduces both overdoses and public drug use. It also reduces interactions with police, which is critical in addressing racial disparities in arrests.

Winnipeg cannot wait for another tragedy. City council and the Manitoba government must take immediate steps.

Expand funding for local harm-reduction programs like Sunshine House and the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network.

Open supervised consumption sites, especially in neighbourhoods most impacted by overdoses and over-policing.

Decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of drugs, following British Columbia’s lead.

Collect race-based data on drug enforcement to identify and address systemic discrimination.

Prioritize culturally appropriate services designed by and for Indigenous and Black communities.

Groups like the Bear Clan Patrol and the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre have already laid the groundwork. Winnipeg must support and expand these efforts, not undermine them with outdated “tough on crime” rhetoric.

Treating drug use as a criminal issue has devastated families and entrenched racial injustice. Harm reduction offers a chance to treat substance use as a health issue — and to begin repairing the relationship between law enforcement and racialized communities.

We owe it to our city’s most vulnerable residents to choose compassion over criminalization.

Winnipeg has the opportunity to lead Canada in building a fairer, healthier approach to drug policy.

It’s time we took it.

Olivia Finlayson writes from Winnipeg.