Both the government and opposition agree drug addiction is a serious issue in Saskatchewan.
However, where they disagree is what should be done about it.
The issue has once again hit the media after the government confirmed six women suffered drug overdoses in the Pine Grove Correctional Centre in Prince Albert during the span of a week this month.
Justice Minister Don Morgan says the government is aware there is a drug problem in Saskatchewan jails and is doing what it can.
“As you are aware, people are very inventive about what they conceal the drugs with,” he says. “It’s a challenging thing for the corrections staff to work through that and we’re working with them to ensure they’ve got the right resources and the right tools so they’re able to do appropriate inspections.”
Morgan says the province has increased available medical assistance in jails, naloxone for opioid overdoses is available and can be administered by staff and there are more inspections for people coming in through metal detectors, scanners, searches and dogs.
However, the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union disagrees and says the government is not doing enough to provide better equipment and training to guards to keep drugs out of jail.
NDP MLA Nicole Saurer also accuses the government of having no real plan to deal with the drug addiction crisis.
She says the government shouldn’t be surprised there is a drug addiction problem in the jails when it hasn’t addressed the issue in society at large.
“I often say in the correctional centres it’s a microcosm of where our failings are in society at large,” she says. “We have a serious addiction crisis in Saskatchewan that is largely being ignored by the provincial government and we’re seeing it manifest itself, of course, in our jails.”
The province also confirmed that an inmate died at the Saskatoon Provincial Correctional Centre in early November from what is believed to be a drug overdose.
(PHOTO: File photo.)