The Nēwo-Yōtina Friendship Centre in Regina is now fully legal through Health Canada to function as a supervised intake site.
The resolution provides more security to the damage relief section of the Wâhkôhtowin center, which has been operating as an overdose prevention since 2021.
The friendship center, on 11th Avenue in Regina, announced the resolution in a social media post earlier this week.
Representatives of the Nēwo-Yōtina Friendship Center were not interviewed this week.
The center operates under a transitory exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, granted in reaction to a pressing public health need, according to Health Canada’s website.
In a statement, Health Canada indicated that it granted the new exemption on December 27, 2024.
Health Canada conducted a “comprehensive review” of the centre’s application and carefully considered “public health and public safety,” the statement read.
With the new resolution, the Friendship Center now operates the first fully federally approved and supervised intake site in Regina.
Prairie Harm Reduction in Saskatoon is the only other initiative approved in the province.
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health says it does not fund consumption sites, but confirmed that a site does not need the province’s approval to operate — just an exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act granted by Health Canada.
“No illicit drugs are available and no illicit drugs are used,” the Health Ministry said in its statement.
The ministry said it’s focused on getting people into the treatment and rehabilitation that they need to overcome addiction.
The Indigenous-led operation allows adults to consume drugs on-site under the supervision of a paramedic to prevent overdoses or other medical incidents.
It also offers drug testing that alerts users to any contaminants such as fentanyl and provides assistance such as access to social services, referrals to drug treatment and detox programs, assistance with housing, senior assistance and cultural assistance, as well as food diaries for them. . in a scenario of food insecurity.
The Saskatchewan Coroners Service recorded fewer drug-related deaths in the first 11 months of 2024 to 2023.
According to data from the coroner’s service, as of the end of November, 334 people had died from suspected or drug-related deaths in the first 11 months of the year, a decrease of 24% compared to 2023.
Sask. records decline in toxic drug deaths
The majority of overdose cases in the province are linked to fentanyl or related opioids.
Regina suffered the most confirmed deaths in the province with 69, while Saskatoon recorded 53.
Reporter
Alexander Quon has been a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan since 2021 and is happy to be back working in his hometown of Regina after half a decade in Atlantic Canada. He has previously worked with the CBC News investigative unit in Nova Scotia and Global News in Halifax. Alexander specializes in municipal political coverage and data-reporting. He can be reached at: [email protected].
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