Alberta to Review Funding of Harm Reduction Group After ‘Safer’ Meth Pamphlets Featured at Student Fair

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith delivers the state of the province address in Edmonton on Oct. 25, 2023. The Canadian Press/Jason Fransson

Alberta’s premier said her government would be reviewing funding agreements with a harm reduction organization after how-to instructions for “safer” drug consumption, including of crack, were made available to high school students at a wellness fair.

A booth by SafeLink Alberta at a Medicine Hat High School event on Dec. 12 had pamphlets about “safer” crack and crystal meth smoking, according to a local media source.

Premier Danielle Smith called it “simply outrageous.”

“There is no such thing as safe meth or crack use,” she said on Dec. 16 in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“We will be reviewing funding agreements with the organization who felt it was appropriate to teach Medicine Hat teenagers how to use illicit and deadly drugs.”

On the SafeLink Alberta website, it notes that along with provincial funding, it also receives money from Health Canada, The City of Calgary, The City of Medicine Hat, the Government of Canada, and the Public Health Agency of Canada as well as corporate donors.

The Epoch Times reached out to SafeLink but didn’t hear back by publication time.

SafeLink Apologizes

Medicine Hat High School principal Dean Brown apologized in a letter to parents and said that the material was removed once school officials became aware of the content, according to Chat News Today.

“Administration quickly identified the inappropriate materials and had them removed immediately,” Mr. Brown wrote.

“To be clear, we are not okay with this content being shared in our school and are committed to doing better. We want to share a sincere apology with our students and families.”

SafeLink also reportedly issued an apology, saying its intentions had been to provide information on safe drug use to teens who are already using drugs, not to promote drug use.

“We recognize that this information may be alarming to parents who are unaware of substance use trends in youth and who would prefer to be made aware of the resources being offered to their children in advance,” the statement said.

The organization said they confirmed that less than 10 pamphlets were distributed.

Medicine Hat Public School Division superintendent Mark Davidson said he was angered by the material, Chat News Today reported.

“As a father, educator, superintendent, and member of our community I was angered by the materials SafeLink displayed for students at Medicine Hat High School’s wellness fair,” he said in a statement.

The Epoch Times reached out to Medicine Hat High School but did not hear back by publication time.

The school board told The Epoch Times that SafeLink had been doing presentations for years without incident.

“The graphic and questionable resources displayed this year both shocked and angered school administration, the event planners, system administration, and many in our community,” said a statement from Superintendent Mark Davidson.

“From now on, all resources to be presented or displayed will require prior approval, a step that, until this incident, had not been seen as necessary.”

Saskatchewan Bans Planned Parenthood

The incident follows an earlier incident in Saskatchewan where material called inappropriate by parents were on display earlier this year at an event, and which  resulted in the government banning Planned Parenthood and third parties from instructing on sexual education in schools.

In June 2023, a Grade 9 student accessed “sexually explicit” material that was made available during a Planned Parenthood presentation at Lumsden High School.

The material was a deck of cards called “Sex: From A-Z” and included descriptions of graphic sexual practices involving feces, urine, and semen.

Planned Parenthood said at the time that the material was usually reserved for more mature audiences, and it got mixed up with other presentation material.

A similar incident occurred in Fort Nelson, B.C., in March, when the same deck of cards was used in a presentation to Grade 8 and 9 students.

Doug Lett contributed to this report.