Complaint filed with Ontario’s medical regulator over private safer-supply clinic in Chinatown

A formal complaint has been filed against a safe supply site on Somerset Street West. CTV’s Katelyn Wilson spoke with nearby businesses on the issue.

Residents and business owners in Ottawa’s Chinatown say safety concerns have been growing around a nearby private safer-supply clinic, and now a formal complaint to Ontario’s medical regulator is putting the clinic under renewed scrutiny.

Trung Tang grew up in his family’s grocery store, Hung Phat Grocery, near Somerset Street West. Today, Tang owns the business but says his wife is afraid to work alone.

“My wife, she is scared, so I’m stuck here. I cannot go anywhere,” Tang said.

Even after installing security cameras, Tang says theft and open drug use have become part of daily life.

“Sometimes they just come in, grab stuff and go out,” he said. “We cannot do anything. They’re quite quick, and we are afraid of them.”

Residents and businesses along Somerset Street West say many of the problems are tied to New Dawn Medical, a private safer-supply clinic that opened in June.

The clinic provides patients recovering from drug abuse with prescribed alternatives to street drugs. It took over the former Northwood Recovery Site, but locals say the issues that existed with that clinic have continued.

According to the Chinatown BIA at least one business has already left the area.

“The social disorder that’s happening near that location has deeply affected the livelihood of both residents and businesses,” said executive director Yukang Li. “We deserve better.”

Those concerns have now reached Ontario’s medical regulator.

In a formal complaint sent Monday, Ottawa Centre MPP Catherine McKenney and Somerset Ward councillor Ariel Troster asked the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to investigate New Dawn’s prescribing volume, concerns that some prescribed pills are ending up on the street and broader oversight issues.

“Catherine McKenney and I are supportive of safe supply, but this clinic doesn’t seem to be administering it in a way that’s responsible either to patients or the community,” Troster said.

“We are both advocating for injectable opioid agonist treatment, something that could be prescribed or administered on site. The problem of course with dilaudid or hydromorphone is for people who have a serious fentanyl addiction, they have to take it multiple times a day and they have to carry large quantities of the drug on their bodies, it’s created a whole criminal ecosystem because if it’s not the drug that people are actually addicted to they’re selling it to buy fentanyl.”

The letter also raises concerns about brief virtual appointments, limited monitoring of patients and daily drug activity in the immediate area.

“There are other clinics that are doing this better, that are doing it more responsibly, that are removing people from the program if they get caught diverting drugs. But this clinic doesn’t seem to be responsible or accountable to the community and enough is enough,’ Troster said.

In a written statement, New Dawn said it provides evidence-based medical care to people living with substance use disorders and that its goal is to help patients get off street drugs, reduce overdoses and save lives.

“Safety is a priority for our clinics. In addition to meeting regulatory requirements, we also employ security guards outside our premises and video surveillance. We are confident in our clinic’s protocols and procedures,” New Dawn wrote.

“There are multiple clinics in the area providing similar services, so activity in the area cannot be automatically attributed to New Dawn Medical. We cooperate with law enforcement when there is a concern.”

New Dawn says its patients are carefully assessed and monitored in their daily visits and undertake regular testing to ensure program compliance. The organization also says all patients receive virtual and in-person care from a physician and a “significant portion” of medications are administered under a pharmacist’s supervision.

“We are improving the community by reducing the use of street drugs, overdoses, and providing patients with excellent care, counselling and access to other recovery supports,” New Dawn said.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario confirmed it has received the complaint and said it takes all concerns seriously.

In a radio interview with News Talk 580 with Kristy Cameron, McKenney disputed part of New Dawn’s statement, saying there is no doctor on site at the Somerset West clinic.

For Tang, the debate over how the clinic operates is playing out on his doorstep.

“The worst thing isn’t losing the stuff,” he said. “It’s that we’re afraid of them.”

Tang says he just wants his family and his customers to feel safe in the store that has been part of Chinatown for decades.