City council votes Monday on future location of a drug consumption and treatment site

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is seeking approval from city council on a consumption and treatment site — the final step in a years-long process that could eventually bring a site to the region.

At a Monday city council meeting, councillors will vote on the consumption and treatment site and its proposed location at 628 Goyeau St. The item was previously bumped from council's agenda twice, originally scheduled for debate in October.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) needs city approval before it can submit an application to the provincial and federal governments. If approved, a site could open in the city by the end of the year, at the earliest. 

"[The site] can save the lives of people who are currently using opioids and also provides them an opportunity to access treatment, so that they can get better and ultimately not use opioids at all," said Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, acting medical officer of health for Windsor-Essex, during a media briefing last week. 

The health unit began collecting information for a possible site in 2018.

Since then, the opioid crisis has only gotten worse in Windsor-Essex, according to a 372-page document headed to council Monday.

Data from the Windsor Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy (WECOSS) says that opioid-related deaths have continued to rise at an "alarming rate" over the last five years, and that the pandemic "has only served to exacerbate the local opioid and overdose crisis."

Ahead of Monday's meeting, Coun. Kieran McKenzie (Ward 9) told CBC News that "at a high-level," he's "very supportive" of the plan. 

"I'm comfortable with what's being recommended," he said. The health unit's report, he said, is one of the most "extensive" he's seen. 

"[The] status quo, [is] not acceptable. We need to be proactive in addressing these issues in our community ... we have to act, we need to act and there's not going to be a perfect solution," he said. 

McKenzie noted that this is one of many services needed to support people struggling with addiction. 

Meanwhile, Coun. Fabio Costante (Ward 2), who also sits on the health unit board, said it will likely be a "contentious" issue, but says he is "in favour" of a site and hopes council makes a decision that is "based on evidence." 

Should it move forward, Costante said, it's the start of a solution. 

"It's also a signal to those who are victims of this addiction, to family members of victims of this addiction, to friends of victims of this addiction, that we are taking a further approach to help people," he said.