Winnipeg needs harm reduction now

Winnipeg Centre

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/08/2024 (678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The crisis of toxic drug overdoses continues to be one of the most pressing emergencies in Canada, especially in Winnipeg. Across the province of Manitoba, overdose deaths increased nearly fivefold between 2019 and 2021, while in December 2023 alone there was a record high of 54 overdose deaths. As I’ve written before, we urgently need evidence-based solutions that take real steps to protect our communities.

That’s why I was so happy to learn that downtown Winnipeg will soon be home to Canada’s first Indigenous-led safe consumption site. In addition to providing supervision of drug-use to prevent overdoses, the safe consumption site will provide primary health care and culturally appropriate supports, and connect people with housing, financial supports, counselling, and routes to treatment.

This historic step is the long overdue result of tireless advocacy from our community, including front-line support workers, families who have lost loved ones, Indigenous community organizations, and people who use drugs. Evidence confirms that safe consumption sites are essential for saving lives. Several medical professional associations have endorsed them, including the Canadian Nurses Association, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Association of Family Physicians, and the Canadian Public Health Association.

For these reasons, it’s deeply disturbing that Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives have strongly opposed harm reduction, seeking to capitalize on stigma for cheap political points. Poilievre has called supervised consumption sites ‘drug dens’ and promised to close them if elected, despite the Supreme Court affirming that this is a violation of our Canadian Charter of Rights. This is just another example of Poilievre’s plan to violate our constitutional rights and freedoms, having also vowed to bypass the constitution to undermine a Supreme Court decision and impose 25-year blocks on bail eligibility.

It’s clear that the Conservatives aren’t serious about protecting lives. When questioned about his position, Poilievre has demonized doctors, researchers and academics who support harm reduction and condemned journalists as biased for trusting their judgement. He’s even resorted to baseless conspiracy theories about a ‘secret government document’ to justify his opposition to harm reduction. While claiming to support addiction treatment as an alternative to harm reduction, it’s totally unclear how he would expand any health services while honoring his promise to cut taxes.

While recovery models addressing the overdose crisis play an important role in helping those struggling with addiction, people who have died from an overdose cannot get treatment. People who use drugs need to feel safe from being stigmatized, criminalized or institutionalized when they ask for help.

The principals of harm-reduction focus on human connection and mutual respect, trusting that people are making the best choices available to them and helping them stay alive and as safe as possible until they are ready for recovery. Sunshine House’s first year report on its mobile overdose prevention site proves that the trusting relationships built between clients and harm-reduction workers saves lives and creates healthier communities.

People who use drugs are no less important members of our community than others. They are precious, they are loved, and they deserve to live. It’s essential that we do everything we can to keep them safe.