During a news conference in Montreal on July 12, federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Liberal politicians of deliberately encouraging drug addiction.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on Friday that he would pull funding from supervised injection sites and force some to close, calling them “drug dens.”
The announcement came amid a bitter debate about how to manage the country’s overdose crisis, which has seen more than 44,000 opioid-related deaths since 2016.
Speaking from a Montreal playground around the corner from the Maison Benôit Labre, a transitional housing facility and supervised drug-consumption site, Mr. Poilievre accused Liberal politicians of deliberately encouraging drug addiction.
“They created an industry of bureaucrats, lobbyists, and activists who profit from the misery of people with an addiction and who want to perpetuate it,” he said.
The Maison Benoît Labre has attracted sharp criticism from neighbours who say it has brought crime and disorder to the neighbourhood and point out that it is just a block away from an elementary school. Local residents have complained about needles and public sex acts, said Mr. Poilievre, calling on the Liberal government to shut down the facility.
If he becomes Prime Minister, Mr. Poilievre said if he would pull funding from all drug-consumption sites and instead direct funding to addiction recovery programs.
“There will not be a single taxpayer dollar from the Poilievre government going to drug dens, every single penny will go to treatment and recovery,” he said.
Any supervised consumption site near a school or playground would be closed under his government, he added, along with those that “endanger the public.” Asked to be more specific about the criteria a Conservative government would use to accept or reject such sites, Mr. Poilievre declined to respond.
The first goal of drug overdoses policy: Keep people alive
A 2011 Supreme Court ruling forced the Conservative government of Stephen Harper to provide an exemption from federal drug laws for Insite, a supervised injection site in Vancouver, because closing it would have violated drug users’ Charter rights. The court allowed for governments to take public safety into account when deciding whether to approve such sites.
There are currently 38 federally authorized drug-consumption sites across the country, a number that has risen steeply under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They provide users with a range of services including medical supervision, clean needles and drug checks for toxicity.
Yuval Daniel, a spokesperson for Liberal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Ya’ara Saks, said the sites must have a process for community engagement and addressing concerns about public safety.
Federal drug-consumption sites have reversed more than 55,000 overdoses since 2017, she added.
“These sites save lives,” said Ms. Daniel in a statement. “We need a full continuum of care so people can stay alive to make it to recovery which includes: prevention, enforcement, treatment and harm reduction.”
The federal government does not provide the core funding for drug-consumption sites, which are often largely financed and operated by cities, provinces or non-profits. The Maison Benoît Labre is authorized by the Quebec government, using emergency authority delegated by Ottawa to respond to the opioid crisis.
Quebec’s Minister for Social Services Lionel Carmant did not respond to a request for comment.
Andréane Desilets, director-general of the Maison Benoît Labre, said in a statement that the organization has been serving vulnerable people in the community for 75 years and does not want to be drawn into a political debate.
“However, we would like to offer a reminder that the services we offer are essential for responding to the rise in homelessness and to the overdose crisis,” she said.
For Mr. Poilievre to use the term “drug den” is divisive, inaccurate and potentially harmful to users, said Dimitra Panagiotoglou, an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology, biostatistics and occupational health at McGill University in Montreal.
“There’s a lot of negative stigma around the term,” she said. “He’s tapping into people’s insecurities.”
While acknowledging the value of addiction treatment, Dr. Panagiotoglou said it will take time and money to build greater capacity to provide such services to those who want them. In the meantime, users will continue consuming potentially toxic drugs, with or without consumption sites, she argued.
“Are we just going to let people die?”
Marc Miller, the Liberal MP for the area and a minister in Mr. Trudeau’s cabinet, acknowledged residents’ concerns about the drug-consumption site and its proximity to a school in a statement, but said Mr. Poilievre was weaponizing the issue “to incite fear.”
“He doesn’t care about the parents nor the importance of good neighbourliness. He’s hijacking their concerns for his own political motives,” added Mr. Miller in a statement.