Evidence of meeting #127 for Health in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was need.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director, Overdose Prevention Society
I just want to say that we are trained, and I've been trained, over time, in bringing down violence. It can be done but you need the proper training for that. It's very difficult on nurses in that environment, I think.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
Thank you.
Mr. Favel, what would your response be to the Manitoba government saying that they don't need safe injection sites in Winnipeg?
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director, Bear Clan Patrol Inc.
I'd say they're wrong. As I said, we are seeing that the addicts are becoming younger and younger. We're seeing more and more of it. As I said, there's a tenfold increase in our community year on year, since we started. That's incredible. Last year we picked up 4,000 syringes, and I didn't believe that it was possible that we would find 40,000 syringes this year, and we've done that. The WRHA is scheduled to release 1.5 million needles into our community in the name of harm reduction. I'm all for harm reduction, but it needs to be holistic. It needs to take into consideration the needs of our community members as well. In the summertime, we have kids running barefoot through our communities and we're out there five and six nights a week making sure that they can do that safely. We can't keep up.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
Absolutely. I can't imagine what that would be like. I grew up in Winnipeg and it's something we didn't used to see.
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director, Bear Clan Patrol Inc.
In our first year we saw 18 syringes; the second year, 300; last year, 4,000; and this year, 40,000.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
Wow.
Ms. Blyth, you work in a safe consumption site. I've never actually heard this from any peer-reviewed publication, but I hear comments from people. It's along the lines of “I went to one of these neighbourhoods and talked to someone who said”, and there are claims that there are increases in crime and increases in drug use in the areas where these are set up. What's your response to that?
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director, Overdose Prevention Society
The one that we set up is in one of the two most used alleys for drug use, and it had been before we set up. My response to that would be where people are using drugs, you would set one up there already, so that it doesn't have an impact on neighbourhoods. Also, we make sure that there are volunteers in the neighbourhood on a regular basis cleaning up needles in the alley that they're in, even though it had been scattered with needles in the past.
The great part is that for people who are injection users, we are discarding all of those needles there. A lot more could be on the streets, like buckets. There are buckets of them. We see 700 people a day, so we're making sure that those needles aren't in the street. It's a place for people to come inside who would otherwise be in the streets and alleys.
9:45 a.m.
Conservative
9:45 a.m.
Conservative
Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB
I was talking to Sarah just briefly earlier about my visit out to east-side Vancouver. I was in your neck of the woods. I've been down the alleys, and I've seen the needles everywhere and the devastation that was going on down there. I would recommend to any of you guys to check it out just to see the reality, which is overwhelming. It really is.
I was able to meet with Dr. Gabor Maté, an expert in addictions. He is an Order of Canada recipient who received his award because of the work that he does with addictions treatment. It was really an insightful weekend.
One thing I want to ask you, Sarah, about the tainted drugs or meth that is out there is if there is a way of testing methamphetamine to determine whether it's dangerous or not.
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director, Overdose Prevention Society
Yes, we have a drug testing machine that comes in a few days a week, and then we can test all drugs that come in. I think it's like 100,000 drugs and other analogues including.... You would be shocked at what people inject into their bodies and that they don't know what strength they are taking. I think even the most conservative views on the issue, really, for safe drug supply, honestly.... When it comes down to really understanding it, that is really the biggest thing we need to do in order to stop crime, everything.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB
We need more access to test machines in order to determine....
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Overdose Prevention Society
I don't know if any of the you know him, but Dr. Mark Tyndall from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control has a pilot project that he would like to bring that would make it easy for people to get safe access to heroin. I think that it should include stimulants as well, because people are using stimulants.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB
I have some questions on the needles that are out there. They are everywhere in East Hastings. They are distributed free by InSite. You can get safe needles anywhere in that area, yet we have diabetics out there who can't even afford needles, so they are reusing the needles they have. They don't have access to free needles, but it seems like drug addicts do.
For example, James, the 40,000 needles that you're finding, where are they getting them from? Are they buying them or are they...?
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Bear Clan Patrol Inc.
Street Connections gives them out free. There needs to be a more stringent needle reclamation process for our communities. If they hand out 100 syringes, they should hand out a sharps container with that. I would much rather pick up hundreds of sharps containers rather than thousands and thousands of needles.
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Bear Clan Patrol Inc.
We've also had a half a dozen of our volunteers pricked while doing that job. It's stressful.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB
I just don't understand why the diabetics don't get free needles as well.
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Bear Clan Patrol Inc.
If they identify as an addict, they can get it for free.
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Overdose Prevention Society
The main thing is disease prevention. It's cheaper to give people a needle than to have people go through all the treatments of hepatitis or HIV long term.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB
I have a quick question to Mr. Dowie or Ms. Creighton.
You talk about the costs of the bed, the $460 a day and the $412 you get from government. Who pays the remainder, the patient or the patient's family?
9:50 a.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Pine River Institute
We do have some program fees that we ask for, though if somebody can't afford it, that's not a barrier to treatment. We have a foundation we work with. It could be knocking on your door next week asking you for money, so it's a little bit of footwork.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB
It's volunteers, okay.
James, is it all volunteer work at the Bear Clan Patrol?
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Bear Clan Patrol Inc.
We have 1,500 Winnipeg-based volunteers and six full- and part-time staff.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB
Again, the resources for the paid staff, how do you get the money for that?
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Bear Clan Patrol Inc.
For now we're getting most of our salary dollars through private donations. Just recently the province has come to the table and has given us a couple hundred thousand dollars, but that's all earmarked funds and it's not available for salaries. Even my salary is in jeopardy after January.
