The Ontario government has confirmed that nine supervised consumption sites will close as planned on Tuesday, despite a recent court injunction allowing these facilities to remain open temporarily. The major and high-profile Queen West site will shut down its operation on Monday. Clients were going to have to go across the city to our sister site in the Parkdale neighborhood to access services. Public health advocates and community leaders have fiercely opposed the grant. They contend that these closures will put lives at risk.
Angela Robertson, the executive director of the Queen West site, said she was blindsided by the sudden changes. “It’s hard because the clients heard the news of an injunction and came to the service this weekend believing that we have 30 more days to remain open,” she said. It was the last-minute nature of the sudden announcement that Robertson said crushed the hopes of many clients who depend on these essential services.
On Monday evening, the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centres will close one of their two CHC locations. This closure will severely hamper access to lifesaving, evidence-based supervised consumption services in the region. The Sanguen Health Centre is unapologetically dedicated to protecting its supervised consumption site. Its federal exemption expires today while it stays open and engages in the business of keeping people addicted to drugs, putting provincial funding in jeopardy.
The Ontario government should invest the $550 million needed to open the full complement of 28 Health and Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs through the province. These hubs, in many cases, will replace the consumption sites that were closed. The first nine are on track to open their doors on April 1. Hannah Jensen, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, stated, “The nine transitioning HART hubs are opening April 1 as planned, ensuring the continuity of mental health support services when drug injection sites close on March 31.” The announcement that all nine of these hubs had received their promised startup funding thus far. The ministry’s intention is to have their operational budgets finalized by mid-April.
Even with all of these advancements, health advocates are still doubtful that the HART hubs will be as effective as they could be. They fear that the new provincial law might slide us into an abstinence-based, treatment-only model. This alteration may be unable to provide what people working to overcome addiction require. The new law criminalizes the distribution of, and the collection of needles and other drug paraphernalia. This ban, at a time of unprecedented public health risk, will likely result in increased overdose death rate.
Bill Sinclair, a representative from Sanguen Health Centre, highlighted the impact of these sites, stating, “More than 21,000 overdoses have been reversed in the last five years at all these sites. Many lives are saved and people are walking around now because our doors were open.” Sinclair was clear on the importance of maintaining life-saving services in response to growing concerns over substance use across Ontario.
The plans for the province continue to move forward. Now it’s coming under fire for replacing these concrete harm-reduction strategies with a focus on legislative changes. Lhamo Dolkar, who has been pushing for SCS as a member of their local Young Liberals organization, pleaded with Premier Doug Ford to reverse his government’s course. “Premier Ford has the power to make one of the most consequential decisions in his career — to save lives — by rescinding the government’s legislation to shut down (supervised consumption) sites,” she stated. “We are urging our premier to do so immediately.”
Beyond the sad closures, a bright spot to call out is that the Kensington Market site will continue to stay open. This site isn’t funded by the province and therefore is not subject to the same prohibitive rules that other consumption sites have to adhere to. It means it will never become a HART gateway hub.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s injunction allows for a temporary reprieve for some sites while reviewing a constitutional challenge against the provincial law. As government officials proceed with closures, advocates continue to voice their concerns regarding public health implications and access to essential services for vulnerable populations.
