Ontario is expected to ban supervised drug consumption sites within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres, a move that would force the closure of 10 facilities across the province.
A provincial spokesperson confirmed to CBC/Radio-Canada that Health Minister Sylvia Jones will announce the decision Tuesday afternoon when she is set to address the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa.
The spokesperson said the announcement will also concern addiction recovery supports with “new treatment hubs.”
Of the 10 sites that will have to close under the new rules, five are in Toronto while one each are in Ottawa, Kitchener, Thunder Bay, Hamilton and Guelph.
Supervised consumption sites allow people to inject, snort or otherwise take drugs under supervision to reduce the risk of overdose.
Opposition parties react
In a statement, Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie agreed that “these sites should not be next to schools,” while calling for “smart, compassionate solutions” to the addiction and mental health crisis.
“Doug Ford is taking away more services,” she said. “He needs to be clear on how they will maintain the capacity required to provide treatment to those who need it.”
The Ontario NDP released a statement faulting the provincial government for taking away “critical public health supports from communities amidst an ongoing homelessness and addictions crisis.”
“Doug Ford has made the callous decision to take away a vital tool that saves lives,” said Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky, the party’s critic for mental health and addictions.
Nurses’ association calls move ‘a disaster’
Justin Piché, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, welcomed expanded access to treatment, but he called the consumption site closures a short-sighted decision.
“Drug toxicity deaths will increase, and that’s the bottom line,” he said. “The province is making a big mistake that is going to cost people their lives.”
The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario also criticized the closures, which its CEO warned would result in more overdoses and more discarded needles in the street, while also spreading infectious diseases.
“This is actually a death sentence for people that use substances,” said Doris Grinspun. “It’s a disaster.”
