Canada’s Adoption of Prison Needle Exchange Programs: To What Extent Does Canada Uphold International Commitments for Prisoner Care?

Abstract

This thesis examines the opportunities and challenges for implementing substance-related harm reduction techniques within Canadian federal prisons. The thesis investigates how harm reduction strategies in Canadian federal prisons differs from the implementation of harm reduction strategies in Canadian communities and focuses on the role of Prison Needle Exchange Programs and Canada’s introduction of these programs in 2019. The central research question asks: what are the opportunities and challenges of implementing substance-related harm reduction strategies within Canada’s federal prisons? In addition, how does implementing harm reduction strategies in Canadian communities differ from Canadian federal prisons? This thesis utilizes a realist review approach and a comparative contrast method to reveal the reasons why harm reduction programs struggle within the realm of the prison environment to reveal how countries can best uphold their international commitments to prisoner care.