The Obstacles to Implementing Supervised Injection Services in Ottawa, Ontario

Abstract

The current opioid crisis has, among other things, resulted in soaring rates of fatal overdose across Canada, prompting officials to turn to harm reduction in hopes of combatting the epidemic. The Coroners Service of British Columbia issued a statement in March 2017 reporting an 80% increase in the number of deaths resulting from illicit drug use in 2016 from 2015 (Coroners Service of British Columbia, 2017). Despite the abundance of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of supervised injection services (SIS) in Canada and worldwide, the implementation of this intervention has remained highly controversial, particularly in Ottawa. Guided by Michel Foucault’s theory of governmentality, this thesis explores the obstacles hindering the implementation of supervised injection services in Ottawa, Ontario. Through eight qualitative semi-structured interviews with front-line workers of harm reduction programs, this thesis identifies and explores several obstacles to the implementation of SIS, primarily bureaucratic obstacles stemming from the enactment of the Respect for Communities Act (2015).