Question Period Note: HARM REDUCTION

• Harm reduction measures are one critical part of a comprehensive public health approach to substance use.
• Harm reduction aims to save lives, and reduce the negative health, social and economic impacts of substance use on individuals, their families and communities, without requiring abstinence.
• Harm reduction services also help people who use substances to make connections with health and social services, including treatment and recovery.

KEY MESSAGES (113 words)
• Harm reduction provides lifesaving, medical services that meet people where they are at, and help them connect with health and social services, such as treatment and housing.
• In the face of a public health crisis, we must ensure access to life saving tools – like supervised consumption sites that have responded to over 60,000 overdoses since 2017.
• Harm reduction is an essential part of our response – along with prevention, treatment and enforcement.
• It provides a lifeline to support people in the face of current gaps in services, including people who face stigma, delays or other barriers in accessing treatment.
• Our government will use every tool at our disposal to end this national public health crisis.
IF PRESSED ON LEGISLATION TABLED IN ONTARIO REGARDING SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION SITES (SCS) (BILL 223, SAFER STREETS, STRONGER COMMUNITIES ACT, 2024) (86 words) ...
• Harm reduction, including supervised consumption, provides lifesaving medical services that meet people where they are at.
• Our government is committed to addressing the overdose crisis in a way that protects both public health and public safety through prevention, treatment, enforcement, and harm reduction.
• Supervised Consumption Sites keep people alive, connect people to care, and benefit the community by reducing public drug use and the strain on emergency services.
• We will continue to work with the Government of Ontario to support the health and safety of communities.
IF PRESSED ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION SITES (SCS) … (87 words)
• There are 39 sites in Canada. Since 2017, they’ve received over 4.94 million visits, attended to over 60,000 overdoses, and made over 547,000 referrals to health and social services [as of August 2024].
• Each visit to a supervised consumption site means a person is receiving the help they need, rather than using and dying alone.
• Supervised consumption services help to keep people alive, and can connect them to health and social services like treatment.
• These sites reduce public drug use, the spread of diseases, and strain on emergency services.
IF PRESSED ON COMMUNITY SAFETY NEAR SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION SITE (SCS) … (107 words)
• Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community.
• SCSs reduce public drug use and help ensure drug paraphernalia is disposed of properly. They provide access to community services like housing and treatment, which can provide hope, and reduce crime.
• Governments need to work together so there are safe environments for our children and our communities, while also providing these life-saving services.
• When applying for federal authorization, supervised consumption services must specify how community concerns, such as proximity to schools, will be mitigated.
o Once they open to the public, sites are required to have processes in place for ongoing community engagement and mitigation measures to address concerns.
IF PRESSED ON SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION SERVICE AT MAISON BENOÎT LABRE IN MONTREAL … (102 words)
• All provinces and territories were granted an exemption to establish overdose prevention sites and determine where they are located.
• Maison Benoît Labre is currently operating under the authority of the province of Quebec.
• The Minister of Health of Quebec is responsible for ensuring that sites they authorize maintain engagement with impacted community members, including school boards.
• We understand the province and city are working together to address the concerns and identify solutions.
• When these essential medical services are properly established and funded, supervised consumption sites can operate very well, supporting the public health and safety of the surrounding community and people who use drugs.

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