Safe Supply Program

Overview

Legislation

Parliamentary Inquiry

April 06 2026: Debate over “safe supply” program

  • 2:40 – “Well “safe supply” was really sort of pioneered in BC in [sic] 2012.”
  • 4:40 – “Has the safe supply program created a system that pays doctors to churn out pills and flood the streets with diverted drugs?”
  • 4:57 – “In my opinion, yes it has.”

Program Varieties

Government-Approved Drugs

Diacetylmorphine (aka DAM)

Methadone

  • Oral, synthetic heroin
  • Commonly used for weaning off of heroin addiction, under supervision

Suboxone

  • Oral, synthetic heroin

Hydromorphone

Overdose Prevention Sites

  • aka “safe injection sites” or “supervised injection sites”
  • Article: Day et al., “Healthcare utilization and mortality after overdose prevention site closure: A linked cohort analysis using segmented difference-in-differences time series”, Addiction, March 10 2026.
    • Basically says no increase in overdoses occurred after an overdose prevention site was shut down, meaning the site did nothing to mitigate overdoses.

MySafe Society

  • MySafe Project for Low Barrier Access to Oral Hydromorphone to Prevent Fatal Overdoses
  • Program that deploys biometric vending machines that dispense drugs and paraphernalia.
  • March 02 2021: $3.5 million from Minister Patty Hadju (Government of Canada)
  • Article: Mansoor et al., “Community partner perspectives on the implementation of a novel safer supply program in Canada: a qualitative study of the MySafe Project”, Harm Reduction Journal, vol 20 #61 (2023).
  • Dr. Mark Tyndall – (video: AllianceON, November 17 2020)

Rectal Drug Kits

  • Procedure also known as “bootie bumping”
    • aka shoving hard drugs up your ass
  • Promoted by organizations with funding from the federal government, such as CATIE.
  • Rebel News report (video: Rebel News, March 22 2026):

Organizations

Public Health Agency of Canada

  • Principal funder of various organizations.

Canada’s Source for HIV and hepatitis C information (CATIE)

Substance Use Health Network (SUHN)

  • aka “National Safer Supply Community of Practice”
  • Connected to MySafe
  • Funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada (aka Health Canada).

Fair Price Pharma (FPP)

  • Dr. Perry Kendall
  • Dr. Martin Schechter

Actors

Patty Hadju

  • Approved funding to several programs
  • Government of Canada: Minister of Health

Dr. Bonnie Henry

Dr. Mark Tyndall

  • MySafe
  • BC Centre for Disease Control: Executive Director (2014-2018)
  • BC Government: Deputy Provincial Health Officer (2014-2018)
  • University of Ottawa (2010-2014)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver: Head of Infectious Diseases (2004-2010)
  • BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS: Program Director for Epidemiology (1999-2010)
  • McMaster University: Internal Medicine Training
  • University of Manitoba: Infectious Disease Training
  • Harvard University: Public Health Training

Dr. Perry Kendall

  • Fair Price Pharma (FPP)
  • Originally declared public health emergency over opioid crisis
  • University of BC: Faculty of Medicine (School of Population and Public Health)
  • BC Government: (ex)Provincial Health Officer
  • Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario: President (1995-1998)
  • City of Toronto: Medical Officer of Health (1989-1995)

Dr. Martin Schechter

  • Fair Price Pharma (FPP)
  • A leading advocate for diacetylmorphine and hydromorphone as opioid addiction treatment.
  • Leading researcher behind NAOMI (clinical trial on heroin-assisted treatment)
  • University of BC: Faculty of Medicine (School of Population and Public Health)

Disclaimer

Citations

Created April 06 2026