What Londoners working in addictions treatment say about Pierre Poilievre's plans
Conservative Leader pledges to defund "safer supply" programs, divert money into treatment
People working in addiction treatment facilities in the London area were quick to respond to comments made by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre who was in the city Thursday.
The conservative leader reiterated plans to divert federal funding for so-called safe supply facilities and supervised consumption sites toward recovery and treatment services.
London has both types of facilities, including Canada's longest running safe supply program that operates out of the London Intercommunity Health Centre in Old East Village. Doctors there prescribe hydromorphone to select patients who agree to terms and ongoing treatment.
Poilievre spoke at a playground, a short walk from the clinic, where he accused those running such programs of wanting to prolong the drug crisis for their own financial gain.
"We will do away with taxpayer-funded hydromorphone, and other hard drugs that the industry of money-sucking activists, drug companies, bureaucrats, and 'hackademics,' – we will cut that back, there'll be no more money for any of them," Poilievre said.
Details about how the party would repurpose funding would come closer to the election, he said.
Addictions nurse considers proposal
Adam McInnis, a nursing team lead for the Addiction Medicine Program at the Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley, says doing away with harm reduction, and programs that use prescribed drug alternatives, wouldn't be ideal.
He said without them, the city's overdose death toll would be even higher.
"I think it's easier said than done, just to shift all the resources over to some other areas," said McInnis.
"The data certainly shows that these sites save lives, and sometimes it connects folks to clinics like ours, our Rapid Access to Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinics… I think it would be very unfortunate to lose these services."
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London's safer opioid supply program and Carepoint facility are both aimed at preventing fatal overdose deaths, and directing those suffering from addiction toward treatment supports, medical expert say.
Dr. Alex Summers, the medical officer of health for London and Middlesex, has said harm reduction tools like safe supply were essential to preventing overdose deaths, and that most opioid-related deaths are tied to illicit drugs.
A survey of 92 safe supply participants in London, released last year by the London Intercommunity Health Centre, found just over half reported a decline of fentanyl use while in the program.
Poilievre has said the Trudeau government's funding of this type of program has fuelled "chaos" on the country's streets, likening supervised consumption sites, like London's Carepoint facility, to "drug dens."
McInnis says statements like this only stigmatises those accessing them.
"These services do wonderful work, and can connect folks to treatment. It's very hard to reach out to some of these very vulnerable folks," said McInnis, who is himself in recovery.
Funds needed for recovery beds
Laird Brush, executive director of Westover Treatment Centre in Thamesville, Ont., agreed with Poilievre's opinion on harm reduction, but said he isn't opposed to harm reduction as a means to an end, if it helps people get care and treatment.
"It's not what's happening," he said. "All harm reduction streams are doing now, in my opinion, is helping to keep sick people sick, it's not helping them get well," Brush said.
Harm reduction couldn't be rid of entirely, he said, but more funding into recovery could help treatment centres like his expand, or allow new ones to open.
However, he noted that health care funding is a provincial responsibility.
"He can say what he wants on federal funding, that's really not going to make a huge impact to those of us that are working in the mental health and addiction sector," Brush said.
An announcement by London police last week that safe supply drugs were being diverted and resold was referenced by the Tory leader.
London police said more than 11,000 tablets of Dilaudid, a hydromorphone brand name, had been seized in the first six months of 2024, saying the drugs were used as currency on the black market.
The London Intercommunity Health Centre said it will work with police and the local health unit to review its policies.
Police board members show support
Attending Poilievre's news conference were Ward 4 Coun. Susan Stevenson and Ward 8 Coun. Steve Lehman, both London Police Services Board members.
Stevenson, whose ward includes the safe supply clinic, agreed with Poilievre's plan, but acknowledged she didn't know what an interim solution might look like, if safe supply ended without enough treatment availability.
"Dr. Summers agrees with the chief medical officer of health of Ontario, and I agree with the Conservative common sense that it's not helping people, to give people drugs," Stevenson said, referring to comments from Dr. Kieran Moore that decriminalization and safer supply would prevent fatal overdoses.
"I'm not going to say that Dr. Summers is wrong, he has his opinion, and it's different than others. I support the ending of that and the focusing on recovery and treatment."
Poilievre acknowledged a future Tory government would have to rapidly expand access to treatment programs for his plan to be effective.
"I would leave that to the experts. I would assume it would be done in a humane way," she said.
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With files from David Baxter, Kate McKenna, Isha Bhargava