P.E.I. government pauses supervised injection site plans

P.E.I.'s chief public health officer says the province has decided to pause the establishment of a supervised injection site and instead prioritize strengthening its existing harm reduction initiatives.

Dr. Heather Morrison appeared before the standing committee on health and social development on Wednesday to provide an update on the province's implementation of supervised consumption sites.

Morrison said P.E.I. has been working on a range of harm reduction measures, including mental health and addiction treatment programs, prevention efforts and overdose response initiatives and these strategies appear to be making a difference.

"It looks like existing actions appear to be preventing… further increases in opioid-related overdose deaths in P.E.I. and at this time, government will focus on these measures rather than an overdose prevention site," she told the committee.

In her presentation, Morrison shared data on opioid-related deaths. In 2023, P.E.I. recorded seven accidental acute opioid toxicity deaths, with a crude rate of 4.0 deaths per 100,000 people. By comparison, Canada as a whole saw 8,232 deaths, with a crude rate of 20.5 per 100,000.

For 2024, data is only available up to June, showing six accidental opioid deaths so far. Morrison said while the full numbers for the year aren't in yet, she does not expect a significant change, meaning 2024 is on track for a slight decrease from the previous year.

"Accidental opioid-related overdose deaths in P.E.I. are the lowest per capita among the provinces," Morrison said.

According to the provincial website tracking overdoses, data on accidental overdoses does not include overdoses that occur as a result of intentional self-inflicted harm.

Focus on harm reduction initiatives

The province has strengthened harm reduction efforts last year, including expanding the provincial take-home naloxone program to 59 distribution sites across the Island, Morrison said. Nearly 9,000 naloxone kits have been distributed so far this year.

She also mentioned the province's drug-checking service, which helps people identify if the substance they plan to take contain fentanyl which could increases the chances of overdose.

Clean needles are available through a needle exchange program at public health nursing offices across the province. During the standing committee meeting Morrison noted more sharps are returned than are handed out.

Beyond harm reduction, the presentation also talked about improvements in mental health and addiction services, such as same-day access clinics, the mental health navigator program and inpatient withdrawal management at the Provincial Addictions Treatment Facility. For those on waitlists, outpatient programs are available as alternatives.

Erin Bentley, senior public health policy and planning officer for the Department of Health, who also spoke at the meeting, said harm reduction is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to addressing substance use and addiction.

"There's more than just overdose prevention site that people need who are struggling with substance use disorder," Bentley said.

Morrison told the committee that the province will continue monitoring the situation, so the province does not completely abandon the overdose prevention site idea.

Opposition surprised over policy shift

The province's decision was met with surprise and concern from some MLAs on the committee who had previously pushed for an overdose prevention site in Charlottetown.

Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly said information health officials provided on Wednesday were vastly different from what they previously said regarding how overdose prevention sites can save lives, and the government has now "backtracked in incredible fashion" on this commitment.

If Islanders are dead, they can't get well.— Karla Bernard

"The provincial government does not have a clue whether it's what direction they're going in Charlottetown or what direction they're going in to help families. And I'm very, very disappointed by this."

Green MLA Karla Bernard echoed McNeilly's concerns, calling the decision "very surprising" given the committee's previous recommendations in favour of an overdose prevention site.

Bernard said she's skeptical of the government's claim alternative services have been implemented to address the crisis, adding these measures are no substitute for the lifesaving potential of a supervised injection site.

"It's a layer of protection for Islanders, because if Islanders are dead, they can't get well," she said after the meeting

Both MLAs said they will continue pressing the government for transparency and accountability and demand the release of the decision records and the scientific evidence that informed this policy shift.