Closing Toronto drug consumption sites would be 'deadly': expert
CBC
As Toronto learns more about the province's expected move to ban drug consumption sites near schools and child-care centres, one advocate says the restrictions will be a "deadly mistake."
Health Minister Sylvia Jones is set to make an announcement Tuesday afternoon to that effect, a move expected to lead to a total of five closures of consumption and treatment services sites in Toronto.
Diana Chan McNally, a Toronto community worker, said the province needs to rethink the move, saying the restrictions will only contribute to more deaths.
"This is a deadly mistake," Chan McNally said in an interview Tuesday.
"The fact that we are essentially leveraging zoning legislation to shut down life-saving services, arguing that it's in the best interest of children and [the] best interest of safety is actually ludicrous."
A spokesperson for Premier Doug Ford says the province will be introducing more addiction recovery supports and new treatment hubs as part of the announcement Jones is set to make at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference.
The 10 Ontario sites that will be forced to close due to the new rules include five in Toronto, and one each in Ottawa, Kitchener, Thunder Bay, Hamilton and Guelph.
The province's announcement follows two reviews of the sites that the government ordered in the wake of the killing of a Toronto woman, who was hit by a stray bullet from a shooting near one of the sites.
Karolina Huebner-Makurat had been walking through the southeast Toronto neighbourhood of Leslieville shortly after noon on July 7, 2023, when she was shot as a fight broke out between three alleged drug dealers.
Chan McNally said she thinks the move will do the opposite of improving safety.
"People aren't going to disappear immediately. They're going to still be in the area," she said.
"So what people are going to see [is] more drug use actually outside and in their communities and it's unfortunate for everybody. We will see lots of people, thousands of people actually dying as a result."
A recent policy paper on opioid use from AMO had the municipalities calling for a more collaborative approach and said that consumption sites save lives.
"Supervised consumption sites are an important component of Ontario's harm reduction approach," the association wrote.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
Students at the University of Regina are days away from deciding whether a newly formed student association should become their official representative body.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.