Absolutely not. Thank you for the question.
The expert task force on substance use and mental health recommended safer supply and decriminalization, but they also said that it should be within a full spectrum of supports for people who use drugs or substances, or who wish to enter into a recovery journey.
The task force clearly recommended a more comprehensive and responsive system. When you provide people with the medication they need to live life every single day but they don't have a home, they don't have income security or food security, and they don't have people they can rely on to support them.... Every person needs another person to support them and to be a champion for their belief in their ability to succeed in life, whatever that means from their perspective. Those comprehensive supports are absolutely necessary as an addition.
As I said, there's no silver bullet. There are many instruments that will support change and will keep people alive. Safer supply and decriminalization are not a silver bullet. They're not meant to end the opioid crisis and the toxic drug supply, but they will keep people alive. They will ensure that human beings have the right to live life. That should be our goal: to make sure that human beings can continue to live life. There are many tools. There have to be many tools.
This is not an easy answer, and it's not an easy solution, but what we're seeing is a focus on one technique, one answer, and on criticizing it without considering the other resources that are necessary. When those other resources are in place, we've seen positive changes that have impacted families, their children and their communities. They increase safety, decrease the number of kids in child welfare, increase the number of kids going to school and increase safety in the community. I can't stress enough that a comprehensive approach is necessary.