Ontario premier defends plan to close 10 supervised drug consumption sites, despite experts calling for more to open
CTV
Premier Doug Ford is defending his government’s decision to shutter 10 of Ontario’s 23 supervised drug consumption sites due to their proximity to schools and child care centres.
Premier Doug Ford is defending his government’s decision to shutter 10 of Ontario’s 23 supervised drug consumption sites due to their proximity to schools and child care centres.
“I just don't believe safe consumption sites. I've listened to the people in the neighbourhoods. I've consulted with them. I've been getting endless phone calls about needles being in the parks, needles being by the schools, and by the daycares. That's unacceptable,” Ford told reporters following an unrelated news conference in St. Catharine’s on Wednesday afternoon.
“Giving someone, an addict, a place to do their injections, we haven't seen it get better. This was supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's the worst thing that could ever happen to a community to have one of these safe injection sites in their neighbourhood.”
The ban, which was officially announced on Tuesday afternoon, will impact nine provincially funded Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) along with one self-funded overdose prevention site. Five of those programs are in Toronto, while the others are in Guelph, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, Waterloo, and Ottawa. They must close by no later than March 31, 2025.
Ford said that his government’s new plan to invest $378 million to open 19 new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs is “what we believe in.”
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) outlined details about these hubs, saying that they would "reflect regional priorities by connecting people with complex needs to comprehensive treatment and preventative services" as well as offer primary care, mental health services. addiction care and support, social services and employment support, shelter and transition beds, supportive housing, and other supplies and services like naloxone, onsite showers, and food.
The province also said its plan for HART Hubs is to add 375 "highly supportive" housing units along with addiction recovery and treatment beds.
