{"id":913531,"date":"2026-09-29T02:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T02:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/913531\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T02:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T02:28:14","slug":"corrections-canada-paper-straws-to-be-issued-to-prisoners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/913531\/","title":{"rendered":"Corrections Canada: Paper straws to be issued to prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning: Graphic content<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s federal prisons will begin issuing safe supplies for inmates to use while taking illegal narcotics.<\/p>\n

An internal notice of the change issued to Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) employees was posted on social media<\/a> on Sept. 22, detailing plans to issue paper straws and foil for \u201csafer snorting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The notice said the straws will \u201creduce harm\u201d by \u201clowering the risks of cuts or tears inside the nose,\u201d reduce the risk of blood-borne infections spreading and \u201cprovide a safer option for snorting, recognizing that overdose and toxicity risk remain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prisoners will be given access to drug testing strips for fentanyl, benzodiazepine and xylazine.<\/p>\n

CSC confirmed the strategy in an email to CTVNews.ca on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201c(CSC) maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the introduction of illicit drugs in its institutions,\u201d spokesperson Laurence Cote told CTVNews.ca in an email on Monday. \u201cWe are aware that despite our best efforts, illicit drugs still enter facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"William Head Institution Canada federal prison William Head Institution is shown through a security fence in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Adrian Lam <\/p>\n

\u201cHarm reduction measures allow CSC to be better informed of offenders\u2019 consumption reality, their needs and will help CSC direct offenders to the programs they need to address their addiction problems,\u201d the email said. <\/p>\n

According to a CSC report in May 2025<\/a>, a majority of men entering prisons reported an ongoing substance use problem. Between 20 and 22 per cent of men entering prisons reported \u201ca lifetime history of injection drug use,\u201d as did 27 to 29 percent of women, according to the same report. <\/p>\n

CSC offers services for treating substance use beyond harm reduction tools, including treatment, psychoeducation and general support. They reported the number of inmates on an opioid treatment program at 3,431 in December 2024, a spike of more than 370 per cent from 920 inmates in December 2016. <\/p>\n

They also run a needle exchange program to supply users with clean syringes. CSC reported 537 inmates using the program in late 2024. <\/p>\n

\"\"Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Adrian Wyld Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Adrian Wyld Poilievre calls for \u2018zero tolerance\u2019 <\/p>\n

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took to social media<\/a> to criticize CSC\u2019s harm reduction efforts on Sunday. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Liberal government helps (drug users) do dangerous, addictive drugs in prison that make them even more violent when they come out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He proposed returning to a \u201czero tolerance for drugs in prison\u201d policy, saying \u201cdrug criminals must undergo regular drug tests to earn release, and isolation for prison drug kingpins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDrug-free prisoners will focus on skill-building and rehabilitation so they can be good citizens on release,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Warning: Graphic content Canada\u2019s federal prisons will begin issuing safe supplies for inmates to use while taking illegal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":913532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[712,49,48,44],"class_list":["post-913531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=913531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/913532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=913531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=913531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=913531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}