A sociology and public health researcher says the Saskatchewan government’s policies for dealing with addictions are rolling back progress made in the last 30 years, in the wake of the shutdown of Saskatoon’s only safe consumption site.

“I think that we are taking a step backwards in our approach of looking at abstinence-only treatment focus modalities in isolation from looking at things like harm reduction, for looking at other modes of community supports, community-based resources, or other prevention mechanisms that look at whole communities and whole families,” said Maryellen Gibson, doctoral candidate at the University of Saskatchewan.

Two weeks ago, Prairie Harm Reduction closed its doors for good after discovering a financial shortfall of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Since then, the provincial government has remained steadfast in its recovery-focused and “saying no” approach to dealing with addictions across the province.

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