Health Canada official confirms crack pipe purchases were taxpayer funded under 'harm reduction' policy

Kendal Weber, Assistant Deputy Minister for the Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch at Health Canada, says that crack pipes were purchased by the organization as part of Canada’s harm reduction policy.The question of whether or not tax dollars went to the purchase of the pipes was put to Weber by Conservative MP Dan Mazier (Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa) during a House of Commons committee meeting on Tuesday.“Well, Health Canada does not directly purchase harm reduction supplies, Health Canada does provide funding to community organizations that do invest in prevention, harm reduction and treatment projects, and that funding can be used for harm reduction supplies to minimize the transmission...” Weber said before she was interrupted by Mazier, who told her it was a direct yes or no question.“Is any of the funding from Health Canada being used to purchase crack pipes?” Mazier reiterated.“I appreciate the question, yes we do provide funding to community organizations for harm reduction tools including pipes, yes,” Weber confirmed..Mazier posted the exchange on X, saying, “Just months ago, they said no public funds were spent on this. They lied. The Liberals continue to promote rampant drug use instead of recovery.”Harm reduction policies are defined as programs and strategies aimed at reducing the negative health, social, and legal consequences associated with substance use, without necessarily requiring abstinence.Some of the measures used by Health Canada include safe supply and supervised consumption sites, needle and syringe programs, and naloxone distribution strategies.Over 53,800 Canadians have died from apparent opioid-related overdoses since 2016. The current rate of deaths in 2025 is over 18 per day on average, with large urban areas such as Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver being noted as hotspots.