the overdose prevention sites saskatchewan's gov't doesn't want
saskatchewan ordered the creation of more than a dozen overdose prevention sites during the pandemic — but doesn't plan on keeping them.
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by: zak vescera
saskatchewan’s government ordered the creation of more than a dozen overdose prevention sites during the pandemic — but doesn’t plan to keep them.
the province used a powerful legal exemption to offer supervised drug injection to at-risk people in quarantine, the first time it has approved or financially supported such services.
but months after a minister ordered 13 sites to offer those services, only one is still operational, and the government plans to close it and any others once the threat of the pandemic is past or when the exemption expires on sept. 30.
it’s a fresh frustration for advocates arguing the services should be available in more communities.
“i think they have an obligation to look at it in a much more serious light,” said marie agioritis, a member of the harm reduction group moms stop the harm.
she said the fact the government approved those locations, even provisionally, is recognition that they prevent deaths and other harms of drug use.
“obviously the government knows this works, or they never would have put it in place where they needed it within the hotels or the agencies that were looking after folks during covid,” agioritis said.
such assisted self-isolation sites, or asiss, were established for people who required quarantine under covid-19 health orders but lacked a place to stay.
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saskatchewan’s government quietly designated those locations as urgent public health needs sites in the summer of 2020, so clients could use illicit drugs inside them without fear of arrest.
“the ministry is prepared to consider extending support for this approach in other situations such as serious community outbreaks on a case by case basis,” associate deputy health minister max hendricks wrote in a letter to sha ceo scott livingstone on june 5, 2020.
the saskatoon starphoenix obtained that document and others under freedom of information legislation.
they show the health authority developed guidelines for staff to supervise injection drug use in those locations, including a system for reporting overdoses and guidance on what staff should do to supervise clients who want to inject into the jugular vein.
“clients can prepare/cook and consume illegal drugs, conduct drug checking, dispose of illegal drugs, and receive and give peer assistance within the physical boundaries of the (site),” reads one document.
the government says it has no plans to continue the sites once the locations close or when its federal exemption to approve them expires on sept. 30.
“these (sites) exclusively serve users of the asis and are not accessible to the public,” spokesman matthew glover wrote in a statement.
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sask. ndp social services critic meara conway wants such services to remain in those communities.
“we have been trying to stigmatize and criminalize ourselves out of this overdose epidemic, and it’s not working,” conway said.
agioritis said the government has been slow to introduce services, even after approving them.
minister of mental health and addictions everett hindley said in april that he had directed the sha to implement services in 13 locations. as of monday, the sha said only saskatoon’s site is operational.
saskatchewan also approved an overdose prevention site at the newo yotina friendship centre in regina.
its executive director now hopes to eventually apply to the federal government to offer that service permanently, not just until the sept. 30 deadline when the exemption expires.
“the need is not going to end in september,” michael parker said. “that’s just an arbitrary date.
the drug supply is not going to shift in september. people’s addictions aren’t just going to go.”
parker said he has faced spotty communication from the province, whose authority is the only reason his site can operate.
glover said newo yotina would have to apply directly to the federal government to operate past sept. 30. parker said he had asked the government for clarity on that deadline but only learned about its answer when the starphoenix sought comment from him.
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“it’s nice to be spoken to, not spoken about,” parker said. “we’ve been trying to build a relationship with the province, and it’s disappointing that i find out (about this) through a saskatoon reporter.”
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