Thunder Bay's safe consumption site warns of rising overdose rates over the holidays

There have been fewer fatal overdoses in Thunder Bay, Ont., this year compared to last, but Juanita Lawson says one death is one too many.

As chief executive officer of NorWest Community Health Centres, which runs the city's safe consumption site, she knows too well how the deadly opioid crisis has deeply impacted the community at large.

Thunder Bay had the highest per capita rate of opioid-related deaths in Ontario last year. In the first two quarters of 2023, there have been 40 overdose deaths reported by the Office of the Chief Coroner, compared to 84 in 2022.

At Path 525, the only safe consumption site in northwestern Ontario, staff have witnessed 94 overdoses this year. In the presence of health-care professionals, no one has died there, but the mixture of toxic substances seen in the street supply has become increasingly concerning.

Heading into the holidays, Lawson is reminding people of the services they offer and of the importance of getting their drugs tested.

"The stats are really telling us that going into December, going into January, that is an incredibly difficult time for people and that's when we're seeing a lot of overdoses, a lot of deaths," she said.

There are 26 supervised consumption sites in Ontario. These locations all have an exemption under the federal government's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which means people are allowed to bring in and use substances and not have to worry about being criminally charged, even after they walk out the doors.

But these sites are also places where people can access wraparound supports such as wound care, counselling and addiction treatment, free naloxone kits and pipe and needle kits, Lawson explained.

"That is really one of the reasons why embedding the consumption and treatment service and Path 525 into a primary health-care organization is so important," she said.

"That pathway into other parts of the organization, whether it's a harm reduction activity group or expressive arts group, really encouraging people to engage and creating a safe place for people to do that."

There were 586 visits to Path 525 in October. Of those, 265 used the site for supervised drug consumption.

For more than a year, Path 525 has had a drug testing machine that allows clients to bring in drugs they've purchased on the street and check to see what's actually in them.

And the results have been shocking for clients, who are told they're buying one thing and end up with something completely different, said Path 525 co-ordinator Nicole Fieduna.

"There's a lot of cutting agents that are just as dangerous as the actual substances that can be put into it," Fieduna said. "Sometimes instead of a cutting agent being sugar or cocaine, it could also be things that are more concerning."