B.C. quietly removes harm-reduction supplies from Fraser Health website

The B.C. government has directed a local health authority to remove most of its harm reduction supplies from an online portal.

On Thursday, Premier David Eby confirmed he asked Fraser Health to review the site, which offered materials to people who use drugs, such as glass tube smoking kits and screens.

Now, the online portal, which soft launched in 2023, only offers fentanyl screening strips. https://harmreductiononline.ca/Products.aspx?type=Drug%20Checking%20Supplies

“I had a concern about the website.” Eby said. “We asked Fraser Health to do a review of the site and to ensure that the site emphasized a couple things.”

Eby said he wanted the site to instead feature access to treatment and overdose prevention resources.

“The emphasis of our government continues to be to support people on getting into treatment,” he added.

Daniel Snyder, chair of the Langley Community Action Team, said he became aware of the change through a colleague — not from the province.

“It was extremely bothersome to me just to hear that and to see that resource disappear,” Snyder said.

Snyder said many people liked the privacy the site afforded them. He said the site was also a tool to connect with drug users, such as middle-aged men who can often be difficult to reach.

“One of the things we know about people dying in this crisis right now, is a vast majority of them are middle-aged men who are using drugs alone,” he said. “We’ve had a very hard time figuring out how we can reach this group of people. Their substance use is highly risky when they’re using alone.”

Snyder believes politics are at play here, as the provincial election inches closer.

“What we’re seeing is this being used as a wedge issue to get votes and hanging in the balance is the lives of those who use substances,” he said.

The site faced criticism by BC Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko, who now calls the changes dramatic.

“It’s really surprising to see that in such a short period of time we went from this service being offered to it being taken away – no real explanation to the public,” Sturko said.

In a statement to CTV News, Dr. Ingrid Tyler, vice president, Population Health and chief medical health officer with Fraser Health, said the health provider was directed by the province, “to redesign the website to more prominently feature how people may access treatment and prevention, ensuring drug testing kits and naloxone are available to save lives, and providing information that supports people in their recovery journey.”

Tyler added that the redesign includes a pause on offering some harm reduction supplies on the online portal.

Harm reduction supplies continue to remain available for free at Fraser Health Public Health Units and at other harm reduction sites in the region.

Nearly 15,000 people have died from the toxic illicit drug crisis since 2016, when it was declared a public health emergency.