Health Minister Josie Osborne vowed to protect B.C.'s regulated overdose prevention sites following comments by federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to end what the party called "fly-by-night" operations.
"They (overdose prevention site) continue to be an important service and something that we will fight for," Osborne said.
She was responding to Poilievre's April 6 pledge to close down overdose prevention sites as part of a larger treatment program for 50,000 people across Canada facing addiction.
A December 2016 health ministry order issued following the declaration of an opioid public health emergency has allowed B.C.'s regional health authorities to establish overdose prevention sites.
These facilities — which health authorities manage in partnership with community groups — offer spaces for people to inject illegal substances with sterile equipment under the supervision. Overdose prevention education, Naloxone training and distribution, drug-checking services, harm reduction supplies, safe disposal options and mental health and addiction referrals, are other services that may also be available.
However, they are underpinned by federal legislation that Poilievre aims to end.
Osborne said overdose prevention sites allow for rapid responses when overdoses occur and play an important role in the spectrum of care.
"They save lives, they help connect people to the resources and supports that they need to move into treatment and recovery," she said. "(We) are developing minimum service standards to ensure that patients, that workers, the community, stay safe and will continue forward with that work."
Various incidents at overdose prevention sites have caused concern among staff and community members. Doctors behind various 'pop-up' overdose prevention sites in Victoria, Nanaimo and Campbell River have also accused government of failing to fulfill promises.
Osborne also said overdose prevention sites are one part of the spectrum of care as government responds to the toxic drug crisis.
"We will continue investing and increasing the number of treatment and recovery beds," she said.
While campaigning in B.C. on Sunday, Poilievre also touched on the future of supervised injection sites, where individuals can consume their own drugs in the presence of trained staff without risk of arrest. Unlike overdose prevention sites, these sites require federal drug law exemptions and receive federal funding.
Five supervised injection sites exist in B.C.: Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria, Kamloops and Kelowna. Poilievre said Conservatives would not allow new facilities until evidence justifies they support recovery. A Conservative federal government would also require existing sites to operate away from places where families and children frequent, focus on connecting users with treatment, and meet stricter regulatory standards.
Published reports peg the cost of Poilievre's proposal at $250 million per year for four years. Centres would receive funding based on the number of months during which they would keep clients drug-free.
Elenore Sturko, B.C. Conservative MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, welcomed Poilievre's proposals.
"So we need to have these things run appropriately as health care services and tracking through the use of health care numbers," she said. "The reality is, that if they (government) are doing a review of health care services, that should include these overdose prevention sites and some of the organizations that have been running them.
"It's in line what we wanted to see, which is stricter parameters for these sites, social responsibility in communities and making sure that the services being provided are actually effective."
Liberal leader Mark Carney also weighed in on supervised injection sites during a swing through B.C., promising a review.
"I look forward to learning more about the details of what Carney is proposing," Osborne said, predicting any attempts to shut down supervised injection sites would lead to court challenges.
A 2011 ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada ordered the Conservative federal government to allow the Insite safe injection facility in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside — North America's first safe injection site — to continue operations. The decision was made on grounds that shutting down the facility would have violated Section 7 of the Charter concerning the "right to life, liberty and the security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice."
Some 16,000 British Columbians have died of drug overdoses since April 2016 when government declared a public health emergency.
According to government figures, 43 overdose prevention and supervised consumption services sites were operating in B.C. in January 2025. These sites have seen 5.6 million visits between January 2017 and January 2025. They witnessed 30,742 overdoses during that time period with two deaths. According to government, these sites prevented 12,430 deaths between January 2019 and October 2024, citing an estimate from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
