PCs Call on Feds to Put Brakes on Mobile Drug Site After Dramatic Drop in Overdose Calls
WINNIPEG — A dramatic decline in drug overdose calls in Winnipeg has prompted Official Opposition Leader Obby Khan and the Manitoba PCs to call on the federal government to deny an application from a local organization to operate their new mobile drug injection vehicle.
Data from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service shows a 25% reduction in overdose calls and a 29% reduction in the administration of naloxone after Sunshine House’s drug injection RV was taken out of service on July 2nd.
“The data is clear. When the drug injection van is taken off the road, drug activity goes down,” said Khan. “The WPFS numbers show that the van is contributing to the number of overdoses on Winnipeg streets.”
The federal health minister must provide an exemption under section 56.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for Sunshine House to operate a mobile injection site. After their former RV was written off in a traffic collision, the organization is now applying for an exemption for their new vehicle—a decommissioned ambulance.
Khan and Morden-Winkler MLA Carrie Hiebert, PC Critic for Housing, Addictions and Homelessness, sent a letter to federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel on Thursday, urging her to reject the exemption.
“This is an opportunity to look at what the data is telling us,” said Hiebert. “We need to work closely with police and frontline support staff to determine what will save lives and give hope to those suspended in addiction. It starts with making treatment available immediately. Is the mobile drug injection site contributing to the number of overdoses in Winnipeg? Let’s look at the data and make informed decisions.”
The new vehicle being a former ambulance also sets a bad example, added Khan.
“The optics of a decommissioned ambulance staffed by individuals with no medical training or qualifications distributing harm-reduction supplies and healthcare services sends a dangerous and contradictory message to Winnipeggers,” said Khan. “A vehicle that looks like an ambulance should not be used to facilitate dangerous drug activity.”
“Manitobans want to see treatment prioritized over consumption,” Hiebert added. “While other provinces are closing supervised drug injection sites in favour of treatment and recovery services, the NDP want to open permanent drug injection sites and provide mobile drug injection services.”
Progressive Conservatives are calling on the federal government to deny this exemption and this vehicle from operating until Sunshine House can prove that their drug consumption vehicle is not contributing to the number of overdoses in Winnipeg.
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