“new harm reduction investments in 2019-20 and 2020-21 have not resulted in any enhanced harm reduction services being implemented by the “(saskatchewan health authority),” said one note obtained under freedom of information legislation.
mental health and addictions minister everett hindley defended the provincial government’s approach, noting spending on the sha was only one part of the government efforts. the government has touted record spending in mental health and addictions as part of its response to the crisis, but critics say the cash is inadequate, piecemeal and hasn’t reached its destination on time.
saskatchewan minister of mental health and addictions everett hindley.
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“that’s been the biggest problem that i’ve seen with the sask. party on the addictions crisis,” prairie harm reduction executive director jason mercredi said on friday, before the report was released.
“they announce budgetary decisions. they do not implement them, until at the very minimum the following years. and time is lives.”
addictions specialist dr. peter butt said he hopes the report sparks a “critical review” of how the province responds to addiction.
“it’s the only way that they’re going to be able to respond effectively. otherwise, it’s going to be a piecemeal approach,” he said.
the task force — comprised of bureaucrats, community leaders and police chiefs — was first formed in 2017 and was revamped in 2020 as the death toll climbed.
as of last month, the provincial coroner’s service reported 442 confirmed and suspected deaths in 2021 compared to 171 in 2019. the deaths were often associated with fentanyl and its variants, which have gone from being rare to almost ubiquitous in saskatchewan’s illicit drug supply, sometimes appearing in substances the user does not expect.
the task force’s focus groups also pointed to critical gaps between existing services that worsened the problem.
they ranged from long waits for detox and treatment services to inadequate access to harm reduction supplies to people being discharged from jails into homelessness.
homelessness and drug overdoses like the one that occurred at regina’s camp marjorie were often overlooked during another year of covid-19.
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the groups also pointed to deeper, systemic issues like homelessness, discrimination against indigenous people and poverty that were all feeding the crisis. the “current government housing programs are setting individuals up for failure and eventual homelessness,” one note stated.
“no one agency or ministry or organization is going to be able to address this issue on its own,” hindley said. “i just don’t think that’s possible, or even reasonable to think.”
the government’s approach has included expanding access to naloxone, which can temporarily reverse opioid overdoses. hindley said around 12,000 kits were handed out last year. internal briefing notes hint the government is considering placing the kits in public places, which hindley said has not yet happened.
a naloxone kit.
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the government also introduced drug checking strips and has ordered three special devices that can scan substances for hidden contaminants like fentanyl.
a drug checking strip used at prairie harm reduction.
matt smith
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saskatoon starphoenix
mercredi said government investments, broadly, had been too slow to hit the street.
he cited the example of $750,000 hindley announced for three mobile buses offering harm reduction services last year. hindley originally hoped they would be on the road this year, but said they will more likely come in 2023 because of supply chain issues.
he acknowledged the covid-19 pandemic — which sapped staff and resources away from other health issues — had frustrated progress.
“we’re always trying to work as quickly as we can to get these out the door,” he said. “we know these are peoples’ lives that are at stake.”
focus groups gave the task force’s consultants a long list of necessary action, from cutting wait times for treatment services to “hot-spotting” resources to certain geographic areas where overdoses are concentrated.
groups also said they would like to receive coordinated alerts from the saskatchewan health authority when a contaminated drug is found in the community. the vancouver coastal health region has done this with a text-based service since 2017.
ret brailsford, left, spokesperson for regina harm reduction coalition, and rebecca granovsky-larsen stand among the crosses on the front lawn of the legislative building in regina on saturday, may 8, 2021.
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regina leader-post
almost 67 per cent of respondents also expressed support for supervised drug consumption services. phr operates the only such permanent site in saskatchewan, and the province has twice declined to fund it.
mercredi said the non-profit applied again for this year’s budget, which will be unveiled later this month. he said he gave cost options, with the most expensive being $1.3 million.
butt said part of the challenge is that many issues — like problems with income support payments and housing — are outside any one agency’s control. he said branches of government need to work together to support people all the way from harm reduction to potentially stopping drug use entirely in a “continuum of care.”
“we do this for cancer,” butt said. “we can do it for substance use.”