ST. JOHN’S, N.L.: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the Hogan government to release all documents related to its decision to spend more than $1 million per year on crack pipes, needles and other paraphernalia.

“Taxpayers are spending over a million dollars a year on crack pipes and needles, yet overdoses in Newfoundland and Labrador are going up,” said Devin Drover, CTF Atlantic Director. “Without transparency, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are left in the dark on this program. Taxpayers deserve absolutely open accountability about the money and results of this program.”

The Department of Health and Community Services gave $664,000 in base funding last year for the Safe Works Access Program, plus another $360,000 in “one-time” funding when costs ballooned, according to documents obtained through the Access to Information Act. That brought the total taxpayer tab to more than $1 million in a single year.

The program’s distribution numbers underscore the scale of the taxpayer-funded paraphernalia. In 2023-24, the program handed out 114,750 crack pipes, up from 74,520 in 2022-23. That same year, the program also distributed more than one million syringes,100,000 brass screens, 16,000 bowl pipes and thousands of fentanyl and benzodiazepine test strips.

Newfoundland and Labrador saw apparent opioid and stimulant-related deaths rise by 28 per cent in 2024. Meanwhile, deaths dropped by 19 per cent across the rest of Canada, according to new federal data.

“While other provinces are seeing fewer deaths, Newfoundland and Labrador is going in the wrong direction,” said Drover. “Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are right to have questions about this policy and it’s wrong for the government to hide even one document about what’s going on here.”