Prairie Harm Reduction terminates director over ‘significant financial shortfall’

Saskatoon's only safe consumption site has fired its director after discovering a 'significant financial shortfall'

Saskatoon’s Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR,) which runs the city’s only supervised drug consumption site, says it’s investigating a “significant financial shortfall” and has ended the employment of it’s executive director.

“On March 5, 2026, the Board of Directors of Prairie Harm Reduction was advised of a significant financial shortfall in operating funds,” the organization said in a news release Tuesday.

“Over the past year, demand for our services has increased by nearly 300 per cent, and it appears that in our effort to respond to that need and avoid turning people away, PHR spent more than our revenues allowed. This combination of rapid growth in demand and insufficient financial management has resulted in a significant cash deficit.”

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PHR says while its investigation has just started, it does not believe there is evidence of fraud, theft or personal misuse of funds.

“Financial management fell significantly short of what was required, and what our community, partners, and funders expect. The Board has terminated the employment of our Executive Director, Kayla DeMong, and assumed operational control.”

PHR says it will appoint an interim lead to oversee day-to-day operations while it stabilizes finances, and engaged external financial experts to conduct an independent review of the organization’s finances and advise on a path forward.

In the release, PHR says it’s urgently seeking financial aid to “protect essential services,” and is asking for community assistance through donations.

More to come...