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OTTAWA – Federal prison warders are warning that needle exchange programs in penitentiaries pose a health and safety risk.
Jason Godin, president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said the initiative went against the long-standing principle of a zero tolerance drug policy and makes workplaces riskier. prisons.
The Federal Prison Service has already implemented programs in two institutions to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases among prisoners.
The initiative, which will be deployed in all federal prisons next year, will give inmates access to clean syringes to limit the transmission of hepatitis C and HIV.
From 2007 to 2017, the prevalence of hepatitis C in prison rose from 31.6% to 7.8%, while HIV rose from just over 2% to 1.2%, according to federal statistics.
Copyright (c) 2017 The Canadian Press
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