This election could test public support for harm-reduction drug programs

Aidan Cox · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 25, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 19 minutes ago

Shila Green is convinced she'd beryllium dormant if it weren't for a cleanable proviso of opioids she received portion successful the throes of addiction.

For six months successful 2023, she underwent an injectable opioid agonist therapy programme successful Saint John, which allowed her the stableness to modulation distant from injecting illicit opioids, and connected to orally-administered methadone.

"That mode I'm not getting soiled worldly connected the street, right?," said Green, who present lives successful Fredericton.

"If it wasn't for them, I would person died, right?"

The benignant of programme Green participated successful typically falls nether an umbrella of what have become known arsenic harm simplification services.

They're often provided by non-profits, wherever the extremity isn't needfully getting users to abstain from substances.

Rather, they connection services ranging from giving out clean needles, to providing a abstraction for radical to usage drugs nether the supervision of a health-care provider, to objective programs that prescribe patients pharmaceutical-grade opioids to support them distant from the progressively toxic proviso of illicit drugs.

WATCH | Support for harm simplification services could beryllium enactment to the trial this national election

But those harm simplification programs have faced criticism, with opponents linking them to increases successful transgression and homelessness, peculiarly successful areas wherever those services are provided.

And with differing solutions connected connection from the national enactment leaders, this predetermination could beryllium to beryllium a litmus trial for the public's enactment for those programs.

"There's nary question that the harm simplification attack has been criticized rather heavy by downtown Fredericton," said Mike Davis, proprietor of The Radical Edge, an outdoor sports store successful the downtown.

"I deliberation it astir apt has a spot successful our society. Whether it's decently located, I'm not sure."

Davis said his and different downtown businesses person experienced an summation successful spot transgression specified arsenic theft and vandalism successful caller years.

That summation coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended the intelligence and fiscal wellness of many.

But it besides coincided with the opening of harm simplification services, including a centre on King Street offering medicine opioids arsenic an alternate to thoroughfare drugs similar fentanyl.

Davis said helium plans to ballot Liberal successful this predetermination due to the fact that of the party's more pro-social stance connected definite issues.

But helium said helium prefers Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's "hard-nosed" proposals erstwhile it comes to tackling transgression and addiction.

"I'm not a large believer in, you know, second, third, 4th chances. I think once someone's done thing determination needs to beryllium a due spot that they tin beryllium remediated," helium said.

"I'm not definite what a amended connection is for it, but you know, being remediated retired connected the thoroughfare is astir apt not precise easy done wherever there's truthful many influences that are astir them to not enactment clean, oregon not adjacent effort to get much clean."

Poilievre has taken purpose astatine harm-reduction centres like the 1 connected King Street, vowing to chopped national backing for them, and alternatively money attraction spots for 50,000 Canadians with the extremity of getting them drug-free.

He's besides projected giving judges the powerfulness to condemnation radical to mandatory addiction treatment.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney has pledged to springiness provinces and territories $500 cardinal to supply a full-range of evidence-based treatment, including those wherever occurrence isn't defined by semipermanent abstinence.

Harm simplification programs needed, accidental users

Those who've battled addiction accidental getting each users drug-free sounds bully successful theory, but isn't a realistic extremity for everyone.

For that reason, they accidental continued enactment for harm simplification programs is needed.

"It keeps them distant from transgression and worldly similar that... and it's cleaner and safer," said Chris Kierstead, who himself has utilized the centre connected King Street to negociate his addiction to methamphetamines.

Brad Daly-Young agrees that getting each idiosyncratic drug-free is an unrealistic goal.

He said harm reduction helps those who conflict with abstinence, and takes contented with radical blaming those services for increases successful crime.

"It's not just to knock them for that due to the fact that you can't blasted them for idiosyncratic else's actions. It's not their fault. They're present to assistance us."

Abstinence-based attraction can't beryllium lone option, says prof

Strong pledges by some large parties to boost enactment for addiction attraction is simply a affirmative sign, said Shawn Bugden, dean of the schoolhouse of pharmacy astatine Memorial University of Newfoundland.

"I deliberation it's encouraging that some the Liberal and Conservative Party are recognizing the situation of the opioid situation that we're facing, and some are talking astir accrued concern successful treatment," Bugden said.

Bugden said the attraction programs that get enactment request to encompass a wide scope of options, including prescribed alternatives programs.

Bugden said programs that impact prescribing drugs specified arsenic methadone and suboxone for people battling opioid addiction person been wide accepted arsenic effectual successful Canada for years.

But with connection in the Conservative level astir bringing "loved ones location cause free," Bugden said it's "a small unclear" whether Poilievre would adjacent the doorway connected prescribed alternatives programs.

"I deliberation that's a 1930s U.S. perspective, that abstinence approach," Bugden said.

"It's not supported by evidence, and I think that it's an unrealistic goal. And we tin assistance a batch much radical by taking the opioid replacement attack than trying to instrumentality rigidly to the abstinence approach.

"If individuals privation to determination that successful that absorption oregon they're capable to determination successful that direction, much powerfulness to them, but let's not adjacent the doorway connected opioid replacement."