Advocates urge Ontario health minister to prioritize supervised consumption sites

In a meeting on Tuesday, doctors, addiction advocates and some of the province's largest community groups came together to call on the minister of health to do more for supervised consumption sites (SCS) in Ontario.

"These sites literally save lives, and they are socially responsible for what's needed," said Nick Boyce, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition's senior policy analyst.

Also on Tuesday, 51 community groups from across the province signed a letter to Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones.

Advocates say several Ontario cities still wait in limbo for funding or approval for SCS. The lack of funding led to the closure of The Windsor, Ont., site in December, while Barrie still waits for approval after more than two years. The sites in Timmins and Sudbury that are currently operational will close at the end of March without provincial funding.

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"Ontario lost over 3,000 people last year - around seven to 10 people are killed by toxic drugs every day in the province, and supervised consumption sites are one intervention we can use that have been shown to dramatically reduce deaths," said Boyce.

In 2021, 75 people died from opioids; in 2022, 63 people died; and in 2023, 36 lost their lives.

The letter also outlines eight calls for action - some of which include direct emergency funding by March 29, ensuring equity in northern communities, and removing a cap on the number of funded SCS.

"People who are loved and people who are family members are dying every single day, and we are seeing those deaths increasing, and in Barrie, when we look at the data, our averages are quite high compared to the provincial average by two to three times," Lynne Cheliak, director services operations with the Canadian Mental Health Association Simcoe County Branch.

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In a statement sent to CTV News late Tuesday afternoon, Hannah Jensen, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, wrote, "Following the tragic incident in July at the Riverdale CTS site, the ministry launched a review of all 17 provincial CTS sites and a third-party review led by Unity Health of the Riverdale site.

These reviews include consulting with Public Health, community engagement and reviewing complaints against the CTS sites. These reviews remain ongoing and will inform the next steps taken by the Ministry of Health, including funding, location and application decisions. Applications remain on pause."

The Canadian drug policy coalition is calling on the health minister to meet with community groups by March 13.