Feds, province spend money but results are wanting

BY ALBERT VAN SANTVOORT, CLAIRE WILSON & DAISY XIONG Glacier Media

Since the province declared opioid overdoses and deaths a public health emergency seven years ago, at least 11,807 people in the province have died.

Since Canada announced a new drugs and substances strategy focused on harm reduction, roughly 34,455 Canadians have lost their lives to an opioid overdose.

Since 2016, when both events occurred, the governments of B C and Canada have committed more than $2 billion combined toward addressing the toxic drug crises that have intensified within their respective borders, with deaths continuing to climb.

Business in Vancouver and Glacier Media reviewed government budgets, records, announcements and commitments in an effort to account for how much money has been directed toward this crisis Canada: Policy reform needed

From 2017 to 2022, there were $654 million in federal expense line items that specifically mention opioids In 2023, the federal government proposed its largest annual opioid crisis expenditure to date: $359 million, bringing the total amount specifically spent on the crisis to more than $1 billion

The money mostly funds community organizations that deliver opioid and other drug and substancerelated programs, including opioid agonist therapy, safer supply programs, awareness and access to naloxone, reduced stigma and support for families and other harm-reduction initiatives

Currently, the Government of Canada’s website identifies $134 2 million in funding for active projects to combat the opioid crisis, with an additional $93 8 million for programs that address the use of substances, including opioids British Columbia is currently benefiting from onethird of all funding for active programs combatting either opioids or multiple other substances – a total of $74 1 million, more than half of which ($39 8 million) is directed specifically to opioids.

The most expensive active program in B C is the Safer Alternative for Emergency Response for Vancouver Coastal Health, at just under $5 million. The project aims to deliver a safe supply program, prescribing pharmaceutical-grade opioids to people most at risk of overdose

While funding has increased, the question as to its impact and effectiveness is difficult to determine Opioid deaths in Canada have continued to climb in the years following the renewed focus on the crisis Federal investments, particularly in developing a safe drug supply, are a critical and important intervention, said Kora DeBeck, research scientist with the BC Centre on Substance Use

But they are not as effective as lower-cost policy changes, such as drug deregulation, decriminalization or legalization, said DeBeck, who added criminalizing drug users bears significant costs, and does little to prevent drug use or public health-related harms.

While federal funding has helped, DeBeck said, the overall level of funding remains insufficient for the scale and scope of the crisis

“We know that investments in those areas are not enough and that people aren’t getting the services that they need,” she said.

The driver of deaths, DeDeck added, is a toxic drug supply She said the the best way to tackle that issue is to remove the supply-side of the equation from the black market.

“We can’t spend our way out of this, we can’t treat our way out of this,” she said. “We need policy re-

form”

B C : Deaths rise despite billions

The B C government has invested almost $2 billion of direct, indirect and targeted funding into the province’s toxic drug crisis since 2014, according to a Glacier Media audit However, experts say these investments have not done enough to lower the number of overdose deaths So far this year, 596 people have died from toxic drugs in B C

“If your success is measured by overdose deaths, we still have a complete disaster on our hands It is an ongoing crisis that has been going on for years now,” said Mark Haden, a professor at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health But many issues remain, such as ensuring access to B C’s safe drug supply, integrating treatment and harm reduction, and the framing of addiction and mental health, according to those who spoke to Glacier Media.