Ontario launches review of supervised consumption centres after deadly shooting near Toronto site
CTV
The province’s ministry of health has launched a “critical incident review” of supervised consumption centres in Ontario following the death of a woman struck by a stray bullet near a Toronto site in the city’s east end last month.
The province’s ministry of health has launched a “critical incident review” of supervised consumption centres in Ontario following the death of a woman struck by a stray bullet near a Toronto site in the city’s east end last month.
In a statement, the ministry confirmed to CTV News Toronto that it will begin its review with the South Riverdale Community Health Centre (SRCHC), located near Queen Street East and Carlaw Avenue. The centre is just steps from where 44-year-old Karolina Huebner-Makurat, a mother of two young girls, was shot and killed while walking down the street on the afternoon of July 7.
“The Ministry of Health expects all Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) to comply with their strict requirements. Following the tragic incident last month, the ministry launched a critical incident review of the sites, starting with South Riverdale Community Health Centre,” a statement from the ministry read.
Police said Huebner-Makurat was killed after gunshots rang out following a physical altercation involving three men on the street.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the shooting and one suspect remains outstanding. One man has been charged with second-degree murder and another was charged with manslaughter, robbery, and failing to comply with a probation order.
This week, the SRCHC confirmed that an employee at the centre was also arrested in connection with the shooting and is facing one count of accessory to an indictable offence after the fact and one count of obstructing justice.
“We are extremely troubled by this latest development and reviewing what options are available to the government,” the ministry’s statement read.
Admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki’s defence lawyers have argued the accused had a history of schizophrenic delusions culminating in ‘catastrophic circumstances,’ while Crown prosecutors say the killings of four vulnerable Indigenous women were driven by Skibicki’s racist views and deviant sexual urges.