By Alexandra Keeler

A B.C. pharmacy scam investigation has led the provincial government to return to a witnessed consumption model for safer supply

More than 60 pharmacies across B.C. are alleged to have participated in a kickback scheme linked to safer supply drugs, according to a provincial report released Feb. 19.

On Feb. 5, the BC Conservatives leaked a report that showed the findings of an internal investigation by the B.C. Ministry of Health. That investigation showed dozens of pharmacies were filling prescriptions patients did not require in order to overbill the government. These safer supply drugs were then diverted onto the black market.

After the report was leaked, the province committed to ending take-home safer supply models, which allow users to take hydromorphone pills home in bottles. Instead, it will require drug users to consume prescribed opioids in a witnessed program, under the oversight of a medical professional.

Gregory Sword, whose 14-year-old daughter Kamilah died in August 2022 after taking a hydromorphone pill that had been diverted from B.C.’s safer supply program, expressed outrage over the report’s findings.

“This is so frustrating to hear that [pharmacies] were making money off this program and causing more drugs [to flood] the street,” Sword told Canadian Affairs on Feb. 20.

The investigation found that pharmacies exploited B.C.’s Frequency of Dispensing policy to maximize billings. To take advantage of dispensing fees, pharmacies incentivized clients to fill prescriptions they did not require by offering them cash or rewards. Some of those clients then sold the drugs on the black market. Pharmacies earned up to $11,000 per patient a year.

“I’m positive that [the B.C. government has] known this for a long time and only made this decision when the public became aware and the scrutiny was high,” said Elenore Sturko, Conservative MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, who released the leaked report in a statement on Feb. 5.

“As much as I am really disappointed in how long it’s taken for this decision to be made, I am also happy that this has happened,” she said.

The health ministry said it is investigating the implicated pharmacies. Those that are confirmed to have been involved could have their licenses suspended, be referred to law enforcement or become ineligible to participate in PharmaCare, the provincial program that helps residents cover the costs of prescription drugs.

Witnessed dosing

The leaked report says that “a significant portion of the opioids being freely prescribed by doctors and pharmacists are not being consumed by their intended recipients.” It also says “prescribed alternatives are trafficked provincially, nationally and internationally.”

Critics of the safer supply program say it enables addiction, while supporters say it reduces overdoses.

Sword, Kamilah’s father, is suing the provincial and federal governments, arguing B.C.’s safer supply program made it possible for youth such as his daughter to access drugs.

Madison, Kamilah’s best friend, also became addicted to opioids dispensed through safer supply programs. Madison was just 15 when she first encountered “dillies” — hydromorphone pills dispensed through safer supply, but widely available on the streets. She developed a tolerance that led her to fentanyl.

“I do know for sure that some pharmacies and doctors were aware of the diversion,” Madison’s mother Beth told Canadian Affairs on Feb. 20.

“When I first realized what my daughter was taking and how she was getting it, I phoned the pharmacy and the doctor on the label of the pill bottle to inform them that the patient was selling their hydromorphone,” Beth said.

Masha Krupp, an Ottawa mother who has a son enrolled in a safer supply program, has said the safer supply program in her city is similarly flawed. Canadian Affairs previously reported on this program, which is run by Recovery Care’s Ottawa-based harm reduction clinics.

“I read about the B.C. pharmacy scheme and wasn’t surprised,” Krupp told Canadian Affairs on Feb. 20. Krupp lost a daughter to methadone toxicity while she was in an addiction treatment program at Recovery Care.

“Three years [after starting safer supply], my son is still using fentanyl, crack cocaine and methadone, despite being with Dr. [Charles] Breau and with Recovery Care for over three years,” Krupp testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health on Oct. 22, 2024.

Krupp has been vocal about the dangers of dispensing large quantities of opioids without proper oversight, arguing many patients sell their prescriptions to buy stronger street drugs.

“You can’t give addicts 28 pills and say, ‘Oh here you go,’” she said in her testimony. “They sell for three dollars a pop on the street.”

Krupp has also advocated for witnessed consumption of safer supply medications, arguing supervised dosing would prevent diversion and ensure proper oversight of pharmacies.

“I had talked about witnessed dosing for safe supply when I appeared before the parliamentary health committee last October,” she told Canadian Affairs this week.

“I’m grateful that finally … this decision has been made to return to a witness program,” said Sturko, the B.C. MLA.

In 2020, B.C. implemented a witnessed consumption model to ensure safer supply opioids were consumed as prescribed and to reduce diversion. In 2021, the province switched to take-home models. Its stated aim was to expand access, save lives and ease pressure on health-care facilities during the pandemic.

“You’re really fighting against a group of people … working within the bureaucracy of [the B.C. NDP] government … who have been making efforts to work towards the legalization of drugs and, in doing that, have looked only for opportunities to bolster their arguments for their position, instead of examining their approach in a balanced way,” said Sturko.

“These are foreseeable outcomes when you do not put proper safeguards in place and when you completely ignore all indications of negative impacts.”

Sword also believes some drug policies fail to prioritize the safety of vulnerable individuals.

“Greed is the ultimate evil in society and this just proves it,” he said. “We don’t care about these drugs getting into the wrong hands as long as I get my money.”

This article was produced through the Breaking Needles Fellowship Program, which provided a grant to Canadian Affairs, a digital media outlet, to fund journalism exploring addiction and crime in Canada. Articles produced through the Fellowship are co-published by Break The Needle and Canadian Affairs.

By Alexandra Keeler

US President Donald Trump has linked his threat to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian goods to Canada’s failure to address drug trafficking and illegal migration at the Canada-US border.

Ontario has responded with a border security initiative, Operation Deterrence, which is drawing tepid support from Ontario mayors of border communities.

“Absence of leadership from Ottawa has created this [scenario] where the provinces are all going in to be Captain, or Miss Captain, Canada,” said Mike Bradley, the mayor of Sarnia, Ont., a city of 75,000 that sits on the Ontario-Michigan border.

“[But] anything that helps on the policing side to deal with the black plague of fentanyl is welcome,” Bradley said.

Operation Deterrence

On Dec. 6, Ontario redeployed 200 Ontario Provincial Police officers to unpoliced border areas near the 14 official Ontario-US border crossings, which are staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency.

Officers are using aircraft, drones, boats, off-road vehicles and foot patrols to “deter, detect and disrupt” the illegal trafficking of drugs, guns and people, a Jan. 7 provincial press release says.

Premier Ford’s office and Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner declined to provide further details about the operation in response to requests for comment.

But a spokesperson for the Ontario RCMP said there is little evidence that fentanyl trafficking is a significant issue at the Canada-US border.

“There is limited to no evidence or data from law enforcement agencies in the U.S. or Canada to support the claim that Canadian-produced fentanyl is an increasing threat to the U.S.,” the spokesperson told Canadian Affairs in an emailed statement.

The spokesperson highlighted that fentanyl trafficking frequently occurs by mail, rather than at physical border crossings.

“Reports state fentanyl produced in Canada is being exported in micro shipments, most often through the mail. Micro traffickers are most often found on the dark web,” the spokesperson said.

As Canadian Affairs reported last week, seizures of fentanyl at the Canada-US border remain relatively low. But Canadian authorities have seized significant volumes of precursor chemicals used in the production of fentanyl, and key sources say Canada is a major player in the global fentanyl trade.

Data also show illegal migration is a concern along the Canada-US border.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 200,000 cases of individuals in Canada trying to illegally enter the US in the 2024 fiscal year.

Canada Border Services Agency data indicate just under 5,000 individuals were detained trying to enter Canada from the US in 2023-24.

Borderlands

Jim Diodati, the mayor of Niagara Falls, says he is supportive of Ontario launching Operation Deterrence in response to Trump’s tariff threats.

“I’m glad at least we’re reacting,” he said. “The concerns, of course, are that things are slipping through the cracks … both for drugs, guns and human smuggling as well.”

But Diodati stressed that border concerns go both ways. He hopes Operation Deterrence will also address firearms trafficking from the US into Canada.

“Ninety percent of illegal guns that come into Canada come from the US side, across our borders,” he said.

Diodati blames Ottawa for underfunding the Canada Border Services Agency, the federal agency responsible for border security and immigration enforcement. “CBSA needs more resources,” he said.

“The US sees our border as porous, not as secure as theirs, and now, with the incoming president, they’re looking to punish us over it.”

Bev Hand is the mayor of Point Edward, a 2,500-person village located a short drive north of Sarnia, on the southern tip of Lake Huron. The community connects to Port Huron, Mich., by the Blue Water Bridge, a key Canada-US border crossing.

Hand expressed cautious support for Operation Deterrence’s aims of addressing drug trafficking.

She noted that, since 2019, there have been 16 major drug busts at the Point Edward border, including two significant cocaine seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In December 2023, US authorities found nearly 500 kg of cocaine in a truck entering the US. In August 2024, US authorities discovered over 120 kg of cocaine hidden in the wall of a truck bound for Canada.

“Fifteen of the seizures were in transport trucks,” she said. “This represents millions of dollars in illegal drugs, and we don’t know what wasn’t captured.”

Hand noted, however, that funds allocated to border security might be better spent on addressing the root causes of drug trafficking, such as addiction.

In December, Ottawa announced it would spend an additional $1.3 billion over six years on enhancing its border security. Ontario has not disclosed how much Operation Deterrence will cost.

Like Diodati, Hand also emphasized the role Operation Deterrence could play in helping to curb firearms trafficking from the US.

She referenced a May 2022 case where a resident discovered a bag with 11 handguns in a tree near Port Lambton, Ont., a city approximately 15 kilometres south of Point Edward.

“The package had fallen from a drone that is assumed to have come from the US side,” she said.

‘Fentanyl Czar’

Bradley, Sarnia’s mayor, said border security initiatives must be balanced against the need to facilitate trade, particularly at critical crossings like the CN Rail tunnel — which runs beneath the St. Clair River and connects Canada to Michigan — and Blue Water Bridge.

“We want security, but you also want trade, and that’s the balance right now that we’re struggling with,” Bradley said.

A 13-year review by professors at Carleton University found that tighter Canada-US border security following the 9/11 attacks increased inspection times and delays at the border. This has “negatively impacted” bilateral trade and cost the Canadian economy billions in foregone economic opportunities and productivity.

Diodati, of Niagara Falls, said he would prefer to see Canada and the US take a bilateral approach to border security that focuses on bolstering security around the continent.

“We want to take a perimeter approach around North America, rather than the borders between us,” he said.

While diplomatic relations between Canada and the US are tense, further collaboration on border security may be on the horizon.

On Feb. 3, Trump paused the imposition of tariffs on Canada after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised Canada would send nearly 10,000 frontline personnel to protect the border.

“Canada is making new commitments to appoint a Fentanyl Czar, we will list cartels as terrorists, ensure 24/7 eyes on the border, launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering,” Trudeau wrote in a post on social media platform X.

“I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl and we will be backing it with $200 million.

“Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together.”

This article was produced through the Breaking Needles Fellowship Program, which provided a grant to Canadian Affairs, a digital media outlet, to fund journalism exploring addiction and crime in Canada. Articles produced through the Fellowship are co-published by Break The Needle and Canadian Affairs.