Health Canada admits taxpayers are funding crack pipes after earlier denial

Health Canada finally admitted that, yes, Canadian tax dollars are being used to fund drug paraphernalia like crack pipes, directly contradicting testimony given to a health committee earlier.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Health Canada finally admitted that, yes, Canadian tax dollars are being used to fund drug paraphernalia like crack pipes, directly contradicting testimony given to a health committee just weeks earlier.

During a House of Commons health committee meeting, Kendal Weber, the Department of Health’s assistant deputy of controlled substances and cannabis branch, admitted the federal government provides funding used to purchase crack pipes, needles and drugs.

Conservative health critic Dan Mazier opened the committee meeting by asking Weber if she still stands by her testimony that Health Canada funds the purchase of crack pipes. During an October 2 committee, Weber said Health Canada merely approved exemptions for drug use to locations that supply syringes and pipes.

Weber said she “really appreciated the opportunity to clarify” how the federal funds are used.

“While, Health Canada does not directly purchase harm reduction supplies. Health Canada does provide funding to community organizations that do invest in prevention, harm reduction and treatment projects, and that funding can be used for harm reduction supplies,” she said on Tuesday.

She clarified that the organizations which receive federal funding do purchase things such as syringes and crack pipes. She speculated they could provide tin foil as well for smoking substances such as fentanyl, meth and heroin.

When Mazier asked if Health Canada funding has been used to purchase illicit drugs, Webber noted that for “a period of time,” Health Canada provided funding to three drug use sites for “prescribed alternatives to drugs,” but that “in general, drugs were funded by provincial or territorial governments.”

Webber also noted that Health Canada doesn’t require a licensed doctor or nurse practitioner to be present at drug-use sites. She said practitioners may be on site “at different times and different shifts,” but she would have to get back to the Conservatives with a written answer to answer with certainty.

Conservative MP Burton Bailey grilled Weber on whether Health Canada is just spending money on “harm reduction” or if the agency is spending any funds encouraging recovery. Weber said funding is used for a variety of reasons, including treatment and recovery.