Action Alert: Fund supervised consumption sites immediately, premier

The government’s freeze on approvals for supervised consumption sites is forcing the closure of sites across the province and gambling with the lives of persons in our communities. The Ontario government freeze comes in the context of a toxic drug supply that claimed the lives of nearly 3800 people in Ontario in 2023 and continues to take the lives of almost 10 people per day in Ontario in 2024. 

Join us! Call on Premier Ford to lift the freeze on approvals and immediately fund supervised consumption sites in every Ontario community in need.

Sudbury submitted its application for a Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site more than 2.5 years ago. Windsor has been waiting more than 18 months for its application to be reviewed. And Timmins has been waiting for more than a year. Sudbury and Windsor have now had to close their doors. Barrie, in spite of submitting a CTS application 2.5 years ago, still doesn’t even have a response from the provincial government to its application.

The toxic drug supply knows no bounds. It has devastated urban, rural and remote lives and communities across Ontario. In February, the eastern Ontario town of Belleville declared an addiction, mental health and homelessness state of emergency after 23 people collapsed within 48 hours due to drug toxicity. Six people died between February 25 and March 15.  Peterborough reports that overdose rates rose by 26 per cent in 2023. Belleville and Peterborough, like all communities across Ontario, need Ontario government resources to address drug toxicity and intersecting issues of addiction and homelessness. 

Accidental overdoses – and the resulting lives lost, trauma and grief for family, loved ones and front-line workers – can and must be prevented. A harm reduction approach that includes supervised consumption, drug checking, safer supply and the decriminalization of personal possession will save lives.

Join us! Call on Premier Ford to fund supervised consumption sites immediately, bring an end to the toxic drug crisis and save lives and community grief.