'Getting tough': Sask. political leaders outline plans to tackle the drug trade with stronger policing

In the wake of a near-fatal overdose at the doorstep of Saskatoon’s safe consumption site last week, the province’s political leaders are weighing in with their strategies to help those struggling with drug addiction.

Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe renewed his commitment to a recovery-oriented system of addiction care, announced last October.

“We are entirely focused on providing recovery opportunities for what is, all too often today, our friends and family members in our communities,” said Moe.

“But we’re also going to bring in the enforcement, to make sure that we are removing the drugs from the hands of the drug dealers and removing the drug dealers from our communities.”

In recent days, both Moe and NDP leader Carla Beck have outlined plans to respond to the drug problem with stronger policing, focusing on taking down the illicit trade.

“We are looking at effective policing to ensure that we are getting tough on the people who are bringing poison into our communities and killing people in our province,” said Beck.

“And ensuring that people stay alive until they’re able to access treatment.”

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If elected, the NDP has committed to scrap the Sask. Party’s planned $20 million Marshalls Service, saying it would give half that funding to existing police forces and half to mental health and addiction supports.

The declarations come just days after a harm reduction organization in Saskatoon disclosed that a staff member arrived to work in the morning to find someone outside its facility, unresponsive from an apparent overdose.

“The staff quickly started administering first aid and contacted 911 … and got paramedics on site as quickly as possible. We did get word yesterday that that person has now woken up,” said Kayla DeMong, executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction.

DeMong says Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) runs one of two supervised consumption sites in the province, the other being the Friendship Centre in Regina. She says PHR’s supervised consumption site runs by donation only, and a lack of funding forced a recent reduction of hours at the facility.

If the supervised consumption site had been open earlier, DeMong thinks Thursday’s near-fatal overdose could have been prevented — they could have kept that person out of the emergency room.

(Chad Hills / CTV News)

DeMong says the cost to run PHR’s supervised consumption site from Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. is about $450,000 a year.

“If we were to go to a 24-hour model and make sure that those services are available seven days a week, we’re looking at about $650,000,” she said. “Just looking at our other programs that run 24 hours a day.”

DeMong says regardless of the political stance, it will take a spectrum of care to address the crisis of overdoses in our province.

“We need the harm reduction support, we need treatment,” she said. “We need that full spectrum of things. I've continually said we're not opposed to treatment. Treatment is a very vital part of that spectrum.”