Pierre Poilievre spouts 'uneducated' opinions on safe consumption sites: Prairie Harm Reduction
CTV
The executive director of a Saskatoon-based harm reduction group says federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s statements on supervised consumption sites are “uneducated.”
The executive director of a Saskatoon-based harm reduction group says federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s statements on supervised consumption sites are “uneducated.”
Poilievre has recently referred to the sites as “drug dens” that a Conservative government would seek to close and not provide “a single taxpayer dollar.”
“As public health advocates and experts, we find it essential to correct these misconceptions and highlight the critical role that safe consumption sites play in harm reduction and community health,” the executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) said in a news release on Tuesday.
The sites are intended to prevent overdoses by allowing people to bring their drugs to use under the observation of trained staff.
For drug users, the sites also provide access to clean supplies to reduce the transmission rates of HIV and other diseases, and offer referrals to people seeking treatment options.
“It is there to engage people, to bring them off the street, and put them in a situation where they're not trying to hide and not at risk of sharing equipment or being alone if they overdose,” Kayla DeMong, executive director of PHR, said in an interview with CTV News.
