Faith leaders urge province to reverse 'deadly decision' to close 10 supervised drug consumption sites

Close to 250 faith leaders from across Ontario are pleading with the provincial government to reconsider its “deadly decision” to shutter 10 of its 17 supervised drug consumption sites (SCS) by March 2025 and create legislation that would prevent any new locations from opening.

On Tuesday, several members of the faith community delivered a letter to Premier Doug Ford and Ontario’s Minister of Health Sylvia Jones that urged them to reconsider this plan, which also includes limiting other harm reduction measures like safe supply and drug decriminalization.

“We urge you, Premier Ford and Minister Jones, to reverse this decision, and to follow the advice of the expert reports which you yourselves commissioned,” the signatories wrote in their letter.

“Ontario is currently in the midst of a deadly overdose crisis that claims one life every 8 hours. These safe consumption/overdose prevention sites are at the front-lines of this crisis, having reversed 21,000 overdoses since 2020. Without these sites, thousands of people will die entirely preventable and unnecessary deaths.”

Late last month, the provincial government announced that it was banning supervised consumption sites within 200 metres of schools and/or child care centres. Five sites in Toronto are affected.

In place of SCSs, the province intends to open 19 Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs, which it previously said would offer a “comprehensive system of care that prioritizes community safety and focuses on giving people their lives back through treatment and recovery, as well as upstream investments in prevention.” These transitional hubs, however, will not offer safer supply, supervised drug consumption, sterile injection equipment, or needle exchange programs.

The faith leaders noted that they aren’t against the hubs calling them “potentially welcome news” as there is a “very lengthy wait for substance use disorder treatment.”

“However, these hubs are not replacements for safe consumption and overdose prevention sites. You cannot bring a dead person to recovery,” they said in the letter.

SCS ban due to 'serious safety problems,' says province

In an email on Tuesday afternoon, Ministry of Health Spokesperson Hannah Jensen told CTV News Toronto the province agrees with “communities, parents, and families across Ontario” who say that the “presence of drug consumption sites near schools and daycares is leading to serious safety problems.”

“That’s why our government is taking action to keep communities safe, while supporting the recovery of those struggling with opioid addiction,” she said.

“We recognize Ontarians deserve more than a health care system that is focused on providing people struggling with addiction with tools to use illegal drugs and our government is taking the next step to create a system of care that prioritizes community safety, treatment and recovery by investing $387 million to create HART Hubs.”

Jensen said that these new hubs are similar to existing models in the province that have “successfully provided people with care.”

“(They) will reflect regional priorities by connecting people with complex needs to comprehensive treatment and preventative services, including mental health services, addiction support, primary care and supportive housing,” she said, adding that the 10 affected SCS sites have the opportunity to convert into HART hubs. Applications are now open, Jensen said. The Ministry said that it expects to approve some of them by the end of the year.

Faith leaders, however, along with advocates and those directly impacted by the drug poisoning crisis, said during a Tuesday news conference at Queen’s Park that this move by the province will only hurt Ontario’s most vulnerable residents and will lead to more people consuming drugs in public in increasingly unsafe ways.

They say faith is about leading with love and supporting people where they’re at and are imploring the Premier to consider that and reverse course on this plan.

“We who are standing on this stage and those who have signed believe that harm reduction is a way that we show and demonstrate that love,” said Bishop Andrew Asbil of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto.

Rabbi Aaron Flanzraich, of Beth Shalom, called for a “clear and supportive policy that makes it understandable that people are seen as human beings.”

“If facts and figures and science, and data have all failed perhaps we have a chance to reach (Ford’s) humanity,” added Rev. Canon Maggie Helwig of St. Stephen-In-The-Field.

Jennifer Haier described herself as an addict of 30 years who has been clean for two thanks to the support and care of the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site, which is slated for closure in the spring if the province’s plan moves forward.

“Closing (that site) down, it’s gonna kill a lot of people. They’re gonna die. It’s gonna be a crisis,” she said tearfully during the news conference.

Haier noted that supervised consumption sites, like the one in Kensington Market where she went, are places that help people who use drugs to “feel better about themselves” and in turn make healthier and safer decisions about the substances they use. She said they can also help lead people to connect with resources and seek treatment.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Siobhan Morris