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On this page: The issue: The overdose crisis | The pledge: Find your mayoral candidates | FAQs | Share on social media | Other resources
The criminalization of simple drug possession in cities across Ontario is costing lives.
On Oct. 3, RNAO wrote to mayoral candidates in 21 municipalities asking them to sign a pledge to support decriminalizing simple drug possession in Ontario.
Find out below whether candidates for mayor in your area signed the pledge. We hope this will inform your vote ahead of municipal elections taking place on Oct. 24. Learn what else you can do to support this campaign.
The issue: The overdose crisis
Accidental opioid-related overdose has been a growing public health crisis for more than two decades. The crisis escalated dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, preliminary data from Public Health Ontario showed that 2,880 people died in Ontario from an opioid-related overdose – an 85 per cent increase over pre-pandemic levels.
Decriminalizing simple possession of drugs is an effective way of preventing overdose deaths. Continued criminalization of drug possession stigmatizes substance use and people who use certain substances. This stigma creates barriers to health care and forces people to use alone – factors that increase the risk of death from overdose.
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police have endorsed decriminalizing simple possession as a response to the overdose crisis.
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WHAT IS DECRIMINALIZING SIMPLE POSSESSION?
“Decriminalizing simple possession” means eliminating criminal sanctions for possession of an amount of controlled drugs clearly intended for personal use.
The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) is a federal law that makes the possession of certain controlled substances a criminal act. The CDSA provides a process for creating exemptions to criminal possession – for example, if an exemption would be in the public interest.
Decriminalization at the municipal level is not a new idea. In June 2021, Ontario’s Big City Mayors called for drug decriminalization to address the growing opioid epidemic. The city councils of Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver have passed motions urging the federal government to decriminalize simple drug possession in their jurisdictions, as have several other municipalities and regional boards of health. The Vancouver motion triggered a three-year British Columbia-wide exemption under CDSA, starting Jan. 31, 2023.
RNAO believes that substance use is a public health matter, not a criminal problem. We support a harm reduction approach that includes decriminalizing simple drug possession. See RNAO’s political action bulletin for RNAO’s full harm reduction strategy.
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Action Alert: End the overdose crisis, premier
Ontarioʼs opioid overdose crisis has been worsening, year by year, for a long time, and it has escalated dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pledge: Find your mayoral candidates
Find your mayoral candidates in your municipality below to see whether they have signed the pledge.
A checkmark 
indicates they signed.
An X 
indicates they didn’t sign by the Oct. 17 deadline.
A blank 
indicates they were not reachable.
Barrie
Andrew Gordan
andrew@andrewgordan.ca
Weldon Hachey
sales@indoorhvacexperts.com
Rob Haverson
Gerry Marshall
gerry@gerrymarshall.ca
Mike McCann
www.mikemccannmayor.ca
Alex Nuttall
alex@alexnuttall.ca
Barry Ward
bajoward@aim.com
Brampton
Patrick Brown
patrickbrown2022.ca
Vidya Sagar Gautam
vsgautam@hotmail.com
Nikki Kaur
nikki@nikkikaur.ca
Prabh Kaur Mand
Tony Moracci
www.tonymoracci.com
Bob Singh
team@bobformayor.ca
Brantford
Kevin Davis
dkdavis18115@hotmail.ca
Ryan Smith
ryansmith_75@hotmail.com
John Turmel
johnturmel@yahoo.com
Dave Wrobel
davewrobelformayor@icloud.com
Cambridge
Chatham-Kent
Darrin Canniff
info@darrincanniff.com
Andy Fisher
andyfisherinfo@gmail.com
William Pickard
williamiv@hotmail.com
Guelph
Shelagh McFarlane
shelaghmcfarlane107@gmail.com
William Albabish
willforguelph@gmail.com
John Edward Krusky
jedwardkrusky@protonmail.com
Nicholas A. Ross
naross40@gmail.com
Danny Drew
Danny4mayor@pm.me
Cam Guthrie
reelectcam@gmail.com
Kingston
Bryan Paterson
info@bryan4mayor.ca
Tina Fraser
tfraser77@hotmail.com
Skyler McArthur-O’Blenes
skyler4ygkmayor@gmail.com
Ivan Stoiljkovic
ivanvision1976@gmail.com
Kitchener
Rehman-Ullah Khan
khanforkitchenermayor@gmail.com
Manikantan Nair
votefornair@gmail.com
Val Neekman
elect@val4mayor.ca
Milos Sokollu Posavljak
milos.posavljak@greenium.me
Berry Vrbanovic
berryv@outlook.com
London
Brandon Ellis
BrandonEllis@ProtonMail.com
Daniel Jeffery
Dan Lenart
dan.lenart.66@gmail.com
Norman Robert Miles
milesn62@hotmail.com
Josh Morgan
josh@joshmorgan.ca
Carlos Murray
Johanne Nichols
Sean O'Connell
apoliticalhand@hotmail.com
Khalil Ramal
info@khalilramal.ca
Sandie Thomas
sandie@thomas4tomorrow.ca
Mississauga
Bonnie Crombie
www.bonniecrombie.ca
Mohsin Khan
commongood@protonmail.com
Melodie J. Petty
Derek Ramkissoon
info@derek4mayor.ca
David Shaw
votedavidshaw@bell.net
Bobie Taffe
btaffe2018@gmail.com
George Tavares
George.Tavares@TavaresforMayor.ca
Jayesh Trivedi
jayesh@themississauga.ca
Oshawa
Dan Carter
dancarter4mayor@gmail.com
Joe Ingino
newspaper@ocentral.com
Sara Lear
saraformayor@gmail.com
Ottawa
Brandon Bay
mayor@brandonbay.ca
Bob Chiarelli
info@bobchiarelli.ca
Bernard Couchman
bjc@bernardcouchman.ca
Graham MacDonald
contact@macdonald4mayor.com
Catherine McKenney
catherine@mckenney2022.ca
Ade Olumide
endottawaelectiongambling@outlook.com
Param Singh
voteparam@gmail.com
Mark Sutcliffe
mark@marksutcliffe.ca
Mike Maguire
info@mikeforottawa.ca
Celine Debassige
celinedebassige@yahoo.ca
Gregory Jreg Guevara
jreg4mayor@gmail.com
Nour Kadri
Kadri4Mayor@kadri.ca
Zed Chebib
ziad.fami.unif@gmail.com
Jacob Solomon
jacobsolomonmayor@gmail.com
Sault Ste. Marie
Ozzie Grandinetti
ozzie4mayor@gmail.com
Donna Hilsinger
donna@donnaformayor.ca
Tobin Kern
tobinkern@gmail.com
Robert Peace
robertpeace1@yahoo.com
Matthew Shoemaker
matthew@shoemaker.ca
St. Catharines
Mike Britton
mike@mikebritton.ca
Nick Petrucci
nick4stcatharines@gmail.com
Mat Siscoe
hello@matsiscoe.com
Greater Sudbury
Brian Bigger
biggersudbury@gmail.com
Evelyn Dutrisac
info@evelynformayor.ca
Don Gravelle
don.gravelle@live.ca
Bob Johnston
kitchencruizin@gmail.com
Devin Labranche
devinlabranche@gmail.com
Paul Lefebvre
plefebvre@paullefebvre.com
J. David Popescu
jdavidpopescu@gmail.com
Miranda Rocca-Circelli
miranda@miranda4mayor.ca
Mila Wong
mwong@vianet.ca
Thunder Bay
Kenneth Boshcoff
info@kenboshcoff.com
Clinton Harris
marleyharris2018@gmail.com
Gary Mack
gary@mackformayor.com
Robert Szczepanski
robert4mayortbay@gmail.com
Peng You
PengYou4You@gmail.com
Toronto
Blake Acton
blake.acton@icloud.com
Avraham Arrobas
voteforabe2022@gmail.com
Darren Atkinson
Chloe-Marie Brown
cb4tomayor@gmail.com
Drew Buckingham
Elvira Caputolan
Kevin Clarke
Sarah Climenhaga
info@votesarah.ca
Phillip D'Cruze
phil_17us2002@yahoo.ca
Cory Deville
Alexey Efimovskikh
Isabella Gamk
Arjun Gupta
Peter Handjis
Robert Hatton
info@hatton4mayor.ca
Monowar Hossain
monowar@bell.net
Soaad Hossain
info.soaadhossain@gmail.com
Khadijah Jamal
k.jamal@rogers.com
Kris Langenfeld
John Letonja
john.letonja@yahoo.ca
Tony Luk
Ferin Malek
ferin.malek@gmail.com
Gil Penalosa
Info@gilformayor.ca
Stephen Punwasi
hi@stephenpunwasi.com
D!ONNE Renée
mycity@torontomail.com
Kyle Schwartz
campaign@kyleschwartz.ca
Knia Singh
info@electkniasingh.ca
Sandeep Srivastava
John Tory
info@johntory2022.ca
Reginald Tull
Info@tullformayor.com
Jack Yan
voters@jack2022.ca
Vaughan
Parveen Bola
parveen.bola@proton.me
Steven Del Duca
contact@stevendelduca.ca
Danny DeSantis
danny@electdesantis.ca
Paul Donofrio
info@pauldonofrio.ca
Robert Gulassarian
robertgulassarian@gmail.com
Lino Mancinella
Sandra Yeung Racco
team@voteyeungracco4mayor.ca
Waterloo
Rob Evans
team@robevansmayor.ca
Dorothy McCabe
dmccabewaterloo2022@gmail.com
Kypp Saunders
team@kyppsaunders.ca
Shannon Weber
info@shannonweber.ca
Windsor
Benjamin Danyluk
bendanyluk@gmail.com
Aaron Day
mr.aaron.day@outlook.com
Drew Dilkens
info@dilkensformayor.ca
Matthew Giancola
info@matthewformayor.ca
Chris Holt
info@voteholt.ca
Ernie Lamont
leloan79@yahoo.com
Louis Vaupotic
FAQs
What do I do if my municipality is not listed?
- Download a copy of the pledge and the template letter.
- Visit your municipality’s website to find contact information for your mayoral candidates.
- Send them the pledge and letter. If you are an RNAO member, please state this.
My municipality is listed, but the mayoral candidates have not yet signed the pledge. What do I do?
- Download a copy of the template letter.
- Using the contact information provided, send your mayoral candidates the pledge and letter to encourage them to sign before the Oct. 17 deadline.
Ontarians: call on your mayoral candidates to join RNAO’s #DecriminalizeNow campaign.
In Focus: RNAO Mental Health and Addiction Best Practices Program
Mental health and wellbeing are essential to everyday health. Pre-pandemic data suggested that each year, one in five Canadians experienced a mental health concern, highlighting a crisis in Canada. Since the pandemic began, 50 per cent of Canadians have reported worsening mental health, with increases in stress levels, depression, anxiety and, higher rates of substance use and associated deaths related to opioid toxicity.
Issue: Opioid overdose crisis
For a decade, Canadians have been dying at an increasing rate from opioid overdoses. Between January 2016 and March 2022, more than 30,800 Canadians died from an opioid overdose. Ontario is not immune to this tragedy. In 2021, preliminary data from Public Health Ontario showed that 2,880 lives were lost — an average of eight people per day.
