Groups call on Manitoba government to back supervised consumption sites on Overdose Awareness Day

Members of Manitoba harm reduction groups gathered outside of the legislature and to walk through Brandon on Wednesday to call for change to help prevent drug overdose.

Moms Stop the Harm held a demonstration at the legislature and took part in another in western Manitoba for Overdose Awareness Day, wearing purple to remember loved ones who have died unnecessarily.

"Every day our loved ones are dying and they're dying from the toxic street supply, and we don't talk about that," organizer Arlene Last-Kolb said in an interview with CBC Manitoba's Marcy Markusa on Information Radio.

"This is a toxic poisoning crisis and until we start talking that way, nothing will change."

Prior to the pandemic, there were about 200 deaths due to drug poisoning, but that number doubled in 2021 to 407 deaths, the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network says.

This year is on track to break that tragic record, the network says.

Moms Stop the Harm put out tables with harm reduction supplies, Naloxone training, drug testing kits and other resources for people to learn more about addictions in Winnipeg.

Among the demonstrators on the legislative grounds was Jaxon Wilson, 11, and his grandmother Janis Gillam. 

Wilson's mother, Gillam's daughter Phoebe, died at 31 of a poisoned drug supply. Five months later, another relative died of the same cause.

Wearing a purple shirt that said "I am the change," Wilson spoke about how much he misses his mother.

"She loved drawing and she was very nice to everyone.… I think of her all the time," he said.

Wilson wants people to look around and see how many people have died because of overdoses, and how many people are "sad and torn apart by this."

LISTEN | Arlene Last-Kolb on protecting people from poisoned drugs

Gillam is proud of her grandson, who lives with her and is her reason for getting up in the morning, she said.

"He is really good at telling people all about overdose awareness from a kid's point of view. It's awesome. He is the change. We are going to make this change," she said.

She hopes they can prevent more people from dying unnecessarily.

"We're warrior mothers. We don't give up and we don't stop," Gillam said.

Premier disagrees with safe consumption sites

Last-Kolb hoped Premier Heather Stefanson would come outside to participate and advance the cause, which former Premier Brian Pallister didn't do.

"He put us back so much by his lack of compassion and his even wanting to talk about this. I had hoped that when Premier Stefanson came in that she would be different and right now, I'm not seeing anything different," she said.

Stefanson didn't commit to attending the rally when asked about it at a news conference in the morning.

"I have a pretty hectic schedule for today, but what I will say to [Last-Kolb] and to all others who have lost loved ones to this horrific disease, it's very real and it hurts so many families," she said.

In an emailed statement, Mental Health and Community Wellness Minister Sarah Guillemard said she was happy to attend the rally and hear from the groups providing services to at-risk people.

"There are far too many families grieving the loss of a loved one due to overdose and addiction," she said. "Our government is focused on the necessary supports to restore health and prevent the heartbreak of overdose deaths."

Guillemard said the PC government has spent more than $62 million since 2019 on dozens of initiatives to improve mental health, substance use and addictions services, and will continue to back "evidence-based" approaches for addictions services.

'Immediate help' needed: Last-Kolb

Last-Kolb wants the province to support safe consumption sites and to do something to eliminate the toxic supply of drugs on the street.

"I'm talking about immediate help. By changing the supply, we're going to save people immediately."

However, that's not something this government believes will work, said Stefanson, who believes the sites will contribute to crime in the community. She didn't cite any evidence to support that belief.

"Our focus has been and will continue to be investing more in [Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine] clinics to really get those individuals off of being addicted to those substances."

In Brandon, dozens of people walked through the western Manitoba city to raise awareness of the toxic drug supply in the province and the number of people who died unnecessarily.

"This is community coming together to support community ... to honour the loved ones who have passed without stigma and without shame," said Antoinette Gravel-Ouellette, who is with Moms Stop The Harm and the program coordinator for Stronger Together Canada.

She says people avoid treatment because they're treated as an addict first, not a person who suffers from an addiction.

"It's not who a person is ... Everybody is somebody's somebody."