If we had to denounce each of the demagogic remarks made by Pierre Poilievre, we would be very busy.
But there are times when the Conservative leader surpasses his own standards. It happened this week when he tried to pass a motion regarding the drug overdoses that are sweeping the country.
The motion was defeated in the House – fortunately!
But that doesn’t erase the fact that Mr. Poilievre and his party chose to hijack a major public health crisis and turn it into a partisan issue.
They decided to spread false information about matters of life and death – literally – with an incredible lack of sensitivity.
As a public contribution, this is particularly deplorable.
Every day, 20 Canadians die from opioid poisoning. That’s almost one death per hour, every hour, every day.
PHOTO MAX WHITTAKER, THE NEW YORK TIMES ARCHIVES
“Every day, 20 Canadians die from opioid poisoning,” writes Philippe Mercure.
Faced with such a scourge, elected officials have a responsibility to leave politics behind and help find solutions.
Instead, the Leader of the Official Opposition chose to shoot those who save lives.
The Conservative motion called on the Trudeau government to “immediately reverse its deadly policies.”
The words are big – you could say rude. They are also completely wrong.
The Conservatives are referring here to what is called “safer supply”, which consists of providing medical-grade drugs to certain addicts.
For some time now, Mr. Poilievre has portrayed the Trudeau government as a pusher of hard drugs, contributing to the overdose problem by flooding the streets with dangerous substances that are then resold.
This irresponsible caricature has nothing to do with reality.
The safer supply stems from the fact that the illegal drugs circulating are increasingly contaminated, mixed and dangerous. Their variable concentration also puts consumers at risk. When the strength of the drugs decreases, those who are addicted to them increase their doses to alleviate their withdrawal symptoms. When the concentration rises, they drop like flies.
The idea is to replace these illegal drugs with uncontaminated substances at known concentrations. Safer supply is always a treatment of last resort, offered to those in whom all other approaches have failed.
If Mr. Poilievre bothered to read the scientific literature instead of saying nonsense, he would see that, far from being “deadly”, these practices save lives.
In Europe, numerous studies have shown that safer supply promotes the physical, psychological and social health of patients. It leads to a reduction in illegal drug use and crime1,2,3,4.
In Canada, where these practices are more recent, the impacts are less well documented, but nevertheless point clearly in the same direction.
” […] the program has led to significant declines in emergency room admissions, hospitalizations, incidental infection admissions and health system costs […] “, can we read in particular in a recent Ontario study5.
Mr. Poilievre, a smart man, probably knows all of this. But he prefers to convey lies and wave scarecrows to serve his own interests. Considering the stakes, it’s heartbreaking.
This bad faith is not harmless. Pierre Poilievre aspires to become prime minister. In the event that he were elected, it is hard to imagine him making a 180-degree turn after making such remarks and freeing up funds for the reduction of harm surrounding drugs.
With each sweeping statement, Pierre Poilievre thus paints himself into a corner, moving away from the possibility of giving birth to sensible and fact-based policies.
In the case of overdoses, it’s not just counterproductive. It’s downright dangerous.
One can speculate on the objectives pursued by Pierre Poilievre. One thing, however, is clear: it is not about saving lives.