Hidden Crisis: Saskatchewan government defends its work

As the drug overdose crisis has gotten worse in Saskatchewan, the voices calling for help have gotten louder.

Many in the industry believe, as a health issue, the responsibility lies with the provincial government to take strides to combat the problem, but they also feel government hasn’t even taken baby steps.

The provincial government however, argues it has done much and has actually made mental health and addictions a priority the last few years.

As Saskatchewan has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic in the last year, another crisis has taken a back seat — deaths by drug overdose.

In 2020, there were 273 confirmed drug overdose deaths in the province — 96 more than in 2019 — with another 67 suspected cases waiting to be confirmed.

This year hasn’t been any better, with 105 drug toxicity deaths suspected and 73 confirmed in just the first 180 days of the year. The latest numbers were released Thursday.

In this series, Hidden Crisis, we get to know the people in the middle of the crisis, those who’ve died, those left behind, and those who are tasked with helping stem the flood of bodies.

Criticism is coming from all corners.

Jason Mercredi is the executive director at Prairie Harm Reduction, the province’s only permanent safe consumption site. Mercredi called the response to the crisis by the province and health authority “the shame of Canada.”

Mercredi said he has seen almost complete inaction from the province. If he had the reins, he said he would immediately implement safe consumption sites in the province’s major cities, institute drug-checking and start looking at decriminalization and safe supply.

“I’m done hearing government talk about this being a crisis and them being really concerned and then not lifting a finger to actually address it,” said Mercredi.

READ MORE:

• Families left behind
• Recovering addict shares story of pain and triumph
• Helping others out of the dark
• The front lines of the fight

Prairie Harm Reduction has been denied funding from the province to operate its safe consumption site two years in a row, even offering funding options as low as $300,000.

Vidya Reddy, with AIDS Programs South Saskatchewan, believes more resources need to be put behind harm reduction programming. He said the evidence shows efforts should not be focused on recovery services alone.

“Where the people are dying is before they actually reach a point where they access the recovery services,” said Reddy.

“So as a community and as a government, we need to shift our focus to channel some more resources towards the people who are falling through these cracks.”

Families are also frustrated. Degen Stevenson’s daughter died of a drug overdose in Regina in December. Stevenson believes politicians know what needs to be done, but they’re afraid that their base may punish them for it.

“Something’s got to give; we can’t go on like this. We can’t. We can’t let people just die on the streets like, ‘Meh, another dead one.’ We can’t,” said Stevenson.

Last fall, the provincial government created its first portfolio for mental health and addictions. The minister, Everett Hindley, said that shows the importance of the issue to government.

He also holds the portfolios for Seniors, and Rural and Remote Health.

Hindley said the government wants to do its part on this and to do as much as it can to help people facing these challenges.

“Any issue that has to deal with the health portfolio … you’re always dealing with lives at the end of the day. And in this particular case, with mental health and addictions, these are very serious challenges that many people across this province are facing,” said Hindley.

Overdose deaths started to take off in spring last year and Hindley was appointed in November. In the time he has been minister, 263 people are confirmed or suspected to have died of drug overdoses in Saskatchewan.

Hindley said he spent much of his first months in the position talking to stakeholders and preparing for the budget that was released in early April.

There was a $23-million increase to mental health and addictions this year, $7.2 million of which was for new programming.

Hindley highlighted things like investment in mobile harm reduction buses for Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert that include drug-checking, giving another $800,000 to the Estevan treatment centre to add 12 more beds, and expanding the naloxone program.

“What we’re trying to do with that is make sure that we can enhance the access and make it easier for people to access harm reduction supplies no matter where they live in this province,” said Hindley.

However, naloxone still isn’t fully covered under the province’s drug plan, so depending on where a person is trying to access it, it can be expensive.

In trying to explain why Prairie Harm Reduction’s site wasn’t funded, Hindley said the government, with limited resources, was trying to provide access to addictions supports to as many people as it can across the province. The decision not to fund the site was made in a year when the province did decide to put $66 million toward a home renovation tax credit.

Mercredi was one of the most outspoken critics of the province’s mental health and addictions budget, saying it won’t do anything to keep people from dying.

“(The) indication is this is not a priority for the government. They are very comfortable with the amount of people that have died. They are comfortable with 2021 being the worst year on record for overdose deaths in the history of the province,” Mercredi said of the budget.

Speaking before the budget was released, Hindley admitted several times the province needs to do more on this file and it needs to happen quickly.

“We recognize that this is a serious situation that we’re dealing with, that it involves people’s lives. And we’re going to do as much as we can as quickly as we can to try and turn these numbers around,” said Hindley.

He said he knows people are expecting things but the government needs to make sure it makes the right decisions.

Hindley said, ultimately, government is focusing on addictions treatment.

“I think overall, we want to make sure people have access to long-term treatment. That is the ultimate goal here, that people get the treatment that they need and that they’re able to break that cycle that they’re in right now,” said Hindley.

And certainly, addictions treatment beds are at a premium right now in Saskatchewan with wait times extending months in some cases.

Hindley said he understands there are other things that need to be done outside of treatment.

“And that’s why it’s important to provide other kinds of shorter-term solutions for individuals as well,” said Hindley.

He pointed again to harm reduction sites in the province, the naloxone program, and rapid access to addictions medicine programs which are short-term clinics where a person can get counselling, medication and a care plan.

Hindley concedes that the budget won’t take care of everything and that work will still need to be done continuously.

“This is a long road ahead of us, let’s just say that. This is a long road ahead of us for all of us,” said Hindley.

Hindley disagreed with the idea that Saskatchewan’s response to the crisis is the “shame of Canada,” as Mercredi put it. When presented with the criticism, Hindley went through a list of government money that has been poured into the problem, while admitting again that more needs to be done.

Hear more of the story here:

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Brady Lang