Provincial funding cut for Ottawa supervised consumption sites, organizations say

Two supervised consumption sites in Ottawa say they’ve received noticed from the province indicating their funding is being withdrawn. CTV’s Austin Lee reports.

Two supervised consumption sites in Ottawa say they’ve received notices from the provincial government indicating that their funding is being withdrawn.

According to a joint statement from Ottawa Inner City Health and the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, the Ministry of Health advised the two organizations late on Friday that their funding would be withdrawn within 90 days.

“We are deeply concerned about what this decision signals for the people who rely on these services to keep themselves safe and connected, the people doing this critical work, and the communities in which they work,” the statement reads.

The organizations say funding is being withdrawn for all provincially funded sites in Ontario. Other supervised consumption sites in Ontario say they have received similar notices.

“We remain committed to continuing the lifesaving work our teams perform every day. We urge the Province to reverse this decision and to come to the table to collaborate on alternative models of care that are rooted in evidence and community need,” the organizations wrote.

In October, Safe Consumption Services, a supervised consumption site on Clarence Street, closed after the Ontario government did not endorse the renewal of an exemption the site needed to continue operations.

Ottawa Inner City Health and Sandy Hill Community Health Centre were operating the two remaining supervised consumption sites in the city.

The Ministry of Health has not yet responded to request for comment.

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