N.B. candidates, front-line workers weigh in on Higgs's injection site comments

Working at Ensemble, the only overdose prevention site in New Brunswick, has changed Keisha Daley's life for the better.

The former substance user is a peer support worker at the downtown Moncton harm reduction centre and she's making the most of her chance to start over.

“I used to be a really bad user, now I don’t use at all,” said Daley. “I'm clean off drugs. I work five days a week. I'm interacting now with my children.”

Daley spoke about the benefits of places like Ensemble one day after Premier Blaine Higgs promised he wouldn't approve any new supervised injection sites in New Brunswick if re-elected this fall.

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Higgs made the promise during a luncheon in Saint John, N.B., on Saturday.

“We will not be adding to the safe supply in a supervised injection sites. I believe that is wrong, there is no such thing as safe heroin,” said Higgs.

Later that night, Higgs said the reasoning behind the campaign promise was the history in British Columbia.

“The B.C. record is pretty bad with no real evidence of improvement,” said Higgs. “So why would we follow a model that B.C. has proven not to be successful?”

Ensemble's mandate is to reduce harm to substance users in a non-judgemental way.

The support centre doesn't provide drugs to clients - instead they try to minimize the risks of drug use.

“Without this place people will die. People are staying alive because of this place. Ensemble saves lives every day,” said Daley. “When people overdose, there’s someone there to save their life.”

Keisha Daley is seen standing outside Ensemble in Moncton, N.B. (CTV Atlantic/Derek Haggett)

Green Party MLA Megan Mitton was taken aback by the premier's comments on Monday.

“That's really harmful rhetoric that he's using,” said Mitton. “The idea of safe consumption sites, of overdose prevention sites, is exactly that. To protect people’s lives.”

The Memramcook-Tantramar MLA said staff at Ensemble can test to see what’s in the drugs their clients are taking.

"Some of what they are consuming has been poisoned and they don't know it. This is really about saving lives and providing other services to people because that might be their pathway to access detox to access rehab,” said Mitton.

The Liberal Party of New Brunswick did not make any of their candidates available to CTV News for an interview on Tuesday, but on Monday, party leader Susan Holt accused Higgs of not being interested in any data or evidence.

She said New Brunswickers want to see preventative measures from their government before people fall into a crisis.

Ensemble Executive Director Debby Warren said Higgs is making a uniformed decision that’s not based on fact.

“Everyone’s blaming the homelessness and the mess that we’re in on us. Well, you know what? I’m blaming our situation on them [the provincial government] for their inability to address the housing issue, to address to poverty issue, to address the need for mental health services,” said Warren.

Ensemble in Moncton, N.B., which is the only overdose prevention site in the province, is pictured. (CTV Atlantic/Derek Haggett)

Warren said Ensemble is the last place many people have to go to for support and health.

“And now they’re going to deny them that? So now they’ll be even more on the street. So, did they fix it? Hell no they didn’t fix it,” said Warren.

Julie Dingwell, the executive director at Saint John’s Avenue B Harm Reduction, hopes if Higgs is re-elected, he'll change his tune.

“Come and talk with us, go and talk with Ensemble and maybe meet some of the people that need help,” said Dingwell.

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