Feds back supervised consumption sites day after Manitoba introduces bill on licensing them – CBC
Supervised consumption sites rooted in evidence, Carolyn Bennett says
Mar 15, 2023
The federal minister of mental heath and addictions says she is concerned some may misunderstand the role harm reduction plays in reducing overdose deaths after the Manitoba government said it would introduce legislation that would require licensing for supervised drug consumption sites.
Carolyn Bennett’s remarks come a day after Janice Morley-Lecomte, Manitoba’s minister for mental health and community wellness, introduced a bill in the legislature that, if passed into law, would require supervised consumption sites, addiction centres with beds and withdrawal-management services to apply for a provincial licence.
Bennett said the large number of overdoses that have been reversed at such sites across the country shows the sites are a form of harm reduction backed by evidence and not rooted in ideology.
“We want to make sure that nothing is increasing the barriers to people getting harm reduction,” she said at an announcement in Winnipeg on Wednesday.
