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The Government of Saskatchewan is cutting ties with Saskatoon’s Prairie Harm Reduction.
It’s exemption to operate was also suspended by Health Canada last week, the board of directors said in a statement on Sunday.
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The province announced on Monday that it is cancelling its contract for mental health and addiction services with the organization, as well as for social services like housing and other crisis management support.
In an emailed statement, the province stated it “does not fund supervised consumption sites.”
However, $346,000 in annual funding goes to Prairie Harm Reduction from the Ministry of Health for “outreach, education and to increase access to take home Naloxone.” Naloxone is used to treat opioid overdoses.
Another $2.181 million is paid by the Ministry of Social Services for child and family programming, according to the statement.
A 30-day notice of cancellation for those contracts was sent to Prairie Harm by the province on March 30.
“No additional funding is being considered and further questions about Prairie Harm Reduction’s financial situation should be directed to the organization,” the province stated.
Speaking at the Regina Legislature on Monday, Saskatchewan’s Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, Lori Carr, said the province has been “really clear that we believe in recovery.”
“We never did believe that there was any safe use of illicit drugs,” Carr said. “We will continue to work with individuals moving forward, it just won’t be at that institution.”
Carr said there are several community-based organizations that work with individuals similar to those Prairie Harm Reduction served.
“We will be working with them to ensure that there is a continuity of service for that outreach and encouraging them to get into recovery,” Carr said.
She noted 170 organizations within Saskatoon have access to Naloxone kits, so Carr said distribution will continue “as is.”
The Newo Yotina Friendship Centre in Regina, which houses the Wâhkôhtowin Harm Reduction Centre, the city’s only safe consumption site. (CJME files)
‘Every city needs a harm reduction service’
Harm reduction centres do much more than just reduce the number of overdoses, said Emile Gariepy, manager at Regina’s Wâhkôhtowin Harm Reduction Centre on Monday.
“I think every city needs a harm reduction service. Not only is it saving lives and reducing HIV rates and blood-borne pathogens and giving education to people who are in use and using drugs, it’s also giving more information on toxic drug overdoses, or even just with our drug testing machines being able to find those toxic drugs and tell people what’s going around in the streets.”
Gariepy said that if a city or community loses access to harm reduction centres, it can have major consequences.
“You’ll see an uprising of death for sure. We do a lot of work saving people’s lives and reversing overdoses here, but overdoses are going to start going back onto the streets. And I’m not saying that they’re not already, but we definitely take a portion out of it,” he said.
“They’re pushing people back out onto the streets, and you’ll see more dirty needles everywhere, more garbage, and more overdoses,” he said.
Gariepy said finances are tight for Wâhkôhtowin, and they also could use a helping hand.
“We wish we were more funded by the government, and we wish we were getting more funding to actually do what we would like to do to the full potential, but we are doing the best that we can with what we have,” he said.
— with files from 650 CKOM’s Roman Hayter and 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick
- If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction you can call the National Overdose Response Service at 1-888-688-6677. This toll-free, 24-hour hotline aims to prevent deadly overdoses by connecting people who are alone and using drugs with peer volunteers who can call for help if needed.
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