Ontario mayors calls for decriminalization of drugs
Ontario's big-city mayors are calling for the decriminalization of controlled substances.
A tainted drug supply with more potent synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil resulted in about 2500 opioid-related deaths in Ontario last year.
"We have lost at least 60 individuals to overdose," said Sara Peddle, the executive director of the Busby Centre in Barrie, Ont.
Peddle and her teamwork first hand with those struggling with homelessness and addiction. She said overdoses are happening at an alarming rate every day.
"Between our outreach team and our shelter teams we have reversed over 17 overdoses between June 1 - June 9, said Peddle.
According to the Gilbert Centre and other outreach groups, the local overdose rates skyrocketing during the pandemic. They say for people unable or unwilling to access mental health services and support; punishment only sends them spiralling further out of control.
"We cannot get rid of drug use or addiction or the harms that come along with that by throwing people in jail," said Sarah Tilley, the Harm-Reduction Co-ordinator at Gilbert Centre.
According to the associate medical officer of Health for the Simcoe Muskoka, criminalizing people who use and possess drugs has made the opioid epidemic worse.
"Despite good intentions, it has not played out as hoped," said Dr. Lisa Simon, the Associate Medical Officer of Health at SMDHU.
The evidence has prompted Ontario's Big City Mayors to call for the decriminalization of drugs with more investment in treatment and counselling while police deal with drug production and trafficking.
"By decriminalizing simple possession and turning that into the public health response that allows the police to focus on catching the real bad guys; the ones who are producing and selling, in this case, poisoned drugs which are killing people through overdoses," said Jeff Lehman, the mayor of Barrie.
Orillia, Ont., mayor Steve Clarke agrees and points to successes of decriminalizing drugs in Europe. If adopted in Ontario or the country, he hopes it will save lives not just on the streets but throughout the community.
"The OPP, who is our policing agency, has recognized for a number of years that not all calls are calls for enforcement; they often can be addictions, they can be mental health," said Clarke.
According to the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, at least 133 people died of an overdose last year, and it's likely much higher with many overdose deaths going underreported.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.