Should safer drugs be supplied to users as an attempt to save lives during the current opioid crisis?

Photo: The Canadian Press

Leslie McBain, co-founder of Moms Stop the Harm, takes part in a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday.

The co-founder of a network of mothers whose children died of drug overdoses says she wants to speak with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre about his opposition to prescribing a safer supply of opioids to those living with addiction.

Leslie McBain of the group Moms Stop the Harm joined other advocates and Green Party MPs at a news conference today, where she said she wants to tell Poilievre that she believes the practice of offering drug alternatives saves lives.

The Greens joined the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc Québécois on Monday in voting against a Conservative motion that sought to condemn the Trudeau government's approach to substance use and addiction.

Poilievre had asked the House to reject what he views as the failed policy of federally funding the supply of pharmaceutical alternatives, such as hydromorphone, in place of certain illicit drugs to combat the opioids crisis.

Drug policy experts and advocates argue such measures are needed to counter the poisoned drug supply, which they say is one of the main drivers of overdose deaths in the country.

Poilievre says such policies are dangerous, arguing they lead to highly addictive drugs making their way into the wider community and continue to fuel addiction instead of treatment and recovery.

Poilievre's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the invitation from McBain, whose son died of an overdose in 2014.

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