Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says the province will continue to fund overdose-prevention sites but will change their name and focus.
Elliott says the existing model of prevention sites must shift from overdose prevention to also include a longer-term goal of helping drug users receive treatment and rehabilitation services.
The minister says the province will approve no more than 21 overdose-prevention sites. Existing facilities may apply to continue to operate under the new model planned by the government.
“As it stands, there is no site between Toronto and Thunder Bay,” says Gilbert Centre Harm Reduction coordinator, Matt Turner. “A good chunk of the province will not have a supervised injection site, or an overdose prevention site. We’re hopeful that the minister will see a need in our community to allow that site to open.”
The Progressive Conservatives paused the planned openings of several sites this summer as they reviewed the future of the sites, a move that has drawn criticism from harm-prevention workers and many in the medical community.
Lisa Simon is with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit and says users stand a greater risk of overdose because they don’t have health professionals around them.
“We know that they are at greater risk for potentially contracting blood-borne infections through less safe injection practices.”
The Gilbert Centre is part of the Simcoe Muskoka opioid strategy which involves securing a supervised injection site. It already has a preferred location for the site to operate and need approval from the government.
- With files from The Canadian Press
