Health Committee on Dec. 4th, 2023

[Jennifer Saxe]

I professionally think that we have some evidence-based actions that have been put in place. We know that supervised consumption sites have saved lives. We know that naloxone has saved lives. We know the information that drug checking has provided. We know that opioid agonist treatment is used worldwide—

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

This appears to me to be—

[Jennifer Saxe]

—as the first line of response. We know that there are prevention actions that.... There are a range of actions that we know are effective.

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

This appears to me—

[Jennifer Saxe]

There are also innovative actions that are new and that we need to build the evidence for—

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

Forgive me. I think the convention of the committee is that we take equal amounts of time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

You had your five minutes, and it's now up.

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

Oh, well, thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks for your time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Next is Ms. Sidhu for five minutes, please.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses for being with us.

My question is for Dr. Weiss or Ms. Hurley.

With regard to a toxic drug supply that is literally poisoning people to death, can you expand on why supporting harm reduction measures is so important to stop the ever-rising death toll of the opioid and toxic drug supply crisis?

Dr. Weiss, you can start.

[Dr. Samuel Weiss, Scientific Director, Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction, Canadian Institutes of Health Research]

I think it's important to recognize that harm reduction is one of a spectrum of approaches that have been scientifically proven to be critical in tackling the toxic drug crisis. You've heard this morning about a number of different approaches to harm reduction, of which prescribing practices, including safe supply, are one.

However, the evidence also provides us with a clear sense that harm reduction without treatment services is less effective, and that treatment services without harm reduction are less effective. If we want to actually make inroads on the toxic drug crisis that exists today, we have to invest in the full spectrum of services, from prevention to harm reduction, treatment and recovery services. That's why, perhaps, the scientific community—beginning in about 2010-15, when we went from a crisis of opioid overdoses to the fentanyl toxic drug crisis—has stressed over and over again that communities need more resources to treat the toxic drug crisis.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you, Dr. Weiss.

Ms. Saxe or Ms. Hurley, can you explain the various risks of forcing somebody who is not ready into treatment?

[Jennifer Saxe]

I'm happy to respond.

Seeking treatment for substance use is an individual choice for people who use drugs. Involuntary treatment can exacerbate stigmatization and can be a barrier to accessing life-saving services and life-saving care.

I think what we've been supporting is making sure that there can be evidence-based, person-centric, trauma-centred supports, including treatment, when and where people need them. That is not currently available across all of Canada, but it's certainly what we are looking to invest in and it's some of what we've been doing through our community-based programming with SUAP and others.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

It was recently said that naloxone is a vital tool in harm reduction for the drug crisis. We also heard that the opioid overdose crisis is primarily affecting males aged 20 to 59.

What kind of awareness education campaign can be done to help this demographic?

[Jennifer Saxe]

That's an excellent question.

For men in trades, as I mentioned, we've been funding and investing specifically in an “ease the burden” campaign. That raises awareness of harms associated with the use of opioids and other substances, as well as the stigma, especially for men in those physically demanding trades, with regard to access and being able to speak about their concerns. Between September 2022 and March 2023, traffic to that campaign page exceeded 142.7 million views. We know that we can raise that awareness and reduce the stigma.

We're also looking at prevention for youth, for teens and young adults at festivals.

I'm happy to turn it over to Shannon to speak more about the prevention efforts we are undertaking.

[Shannon Hurley, Associate Director General, Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Public Health Agency of Canada]

Yes, I'm happy to add that the Public Health Agency of Canada aims our public education efforts at specific audiences. We recognize how important it is to reach people with messages that resonate with them. We've developed messaging with youth for youth, for example, about different substances.

I know we're here today talking about opioids, but we're reaching youth on substances that youth are especially using in Canada: for example, alcohol and cannabis. We have other messaging for older adults and for pregnant people, just recognizing the importance of reaching people with messages that work for them.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Can you—

[Jennifer Saxe]

[Inaudible—Editor] mentioned is critical. When we developed our “ease the burden” campaign, it was really essential that we worked with people who had lived and living experience so that it resonated with them.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you.

The Canadian—

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

I'm sorry, Ms. Sidhu; that's your time.

Next we have Dr. Ellis, please, for five minutes.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thank you very much, Chair.

I have a question for Ms. Saxe.

When Purdue Pharma supercharged the distribution of oxycontin, starting in the United States, it was generally accepted that this was a bad thing for society. Is that correct?

[Jennifer Saxe]

There were concerns then, at the beginning of the opioid crisis, in terms of the prescription of opioids and the implications that that had—

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

I'm sorry, Ms. Saxe. I'm just going to interrupt you there.

Isn't it true that the Sackler family of Purdue Pharma was sued by the U.S. government for billions of dollars for that action?

[Jennifer Saxe]

That's correct.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thank you.

That would mean that it would be a bad thing, probably.

Answer with a simple yes or no.