Anthony Marcusa –
The Ford government’s plan to close supervised consumption sites within 200 metres of schools will profoundly affect vulnerable individuals and communities, the Toronto Board of Health has heard from professionals, advocates and community members.
The board’s November 18 meeting also received the first-year progress report on Our Health, Our City, a five-year strategy to address mental health and substance use issues. However, its successes were overshadowed, as speakers denounced the recent provincial move to shutter 10 supervised consumption sites by March 31 2025, including five in Toronto. The Ontario government has announced it will replace the sites with Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs, providing treatment and recovery services and shelter, but not supervised consumption or access to a safe drug supply.
“While we greatly welcome these investments in the hubs, there is still a critical need for more evidence-based services across the system, including prevention and harm reduction treatment,” said Uppala Chandrasekera, director of Toronto Public Health. “These hubs are not a replacement for the services that will be lost with the closure of supervised consumption sites.”
“Not only will the proposed restrictions and closures of these services increase harm and worsen the drug toxicity epidemic, it will also put additional pressures on the health care system.”
Last year, Chandrasekera said, Ontario sites responded to 2,296 overdoses and 9,867 referrals to health and social services were made from nine of the sites. Eight sites together collected more than 500,000 needles.
Colin Johnson, co-director of Toronto Harm Reduction Alliance, said the sites were not just safe places for supervised drug use, but also places of community.
“All supervised consumption sites play a key role in connecting clients with health and social services. But they do far more than that,” he said.
“This is where [clients] interact with others, this is where they get updated on information. It’s also where they do their laundry, where they catch lunch and eat meals. By closing these things, these people are not going to move.”
Johnson believes the closings will not reduce drug use, but move it to more public settings, such as on the TTC. Needles will be reused and infections will spread. Unsupervised use can lead to altercations and violence, he argued, which will lead to an increase in 911 emergency calls and ambulance services. Johnson also pointed out the burden it will place on frontline workers.
“I do not think we understand the vast scope of what the impact that this will have. People will die from this action.”
Johnson, who identified himself as someone who lives with HIV and uses drugs, called for including drug users in planning and executing policy. “You need to introduce and bring people who use drugs to the table regardless of what you might think.”
The board also heard personal experiences and professional insight into the benefits of supervised sites.
Meanwhile, the Our Health, Our City report showed positive results in the plan’s first year. The Toronto Community Crisis Service became the fourth emergency service in July, six months ahead of schedule. This service is a collaboration among community partners, including CAMH and the Gerstein Crisis Centre, providing 24/7 trauma-informed and harm support, accessed primarily through the 211 phone number.
According to Denise Andrea Campbell, director of the city’s the social development, finance and administration division, from the start of the service in March 2022 to the end of this summer, 58 percent of completed calls were received from 211 or community sources. The rest came through 911, signalling community understanding and acceptance of the service. Mobile teams were dispatched 15,908 times.
The service handled 78 percent of calls transferred from 911 with no police involvement, the report noted. There were 5,781 referrals made onsite and during a follow-up visit, while 1,114 service users were connected to case management.
Campbell stressed the importance of offering culturally relevant support. “An important part of this service isn’t just about responding to people in their most vulnerable moment with the right response. It is about trying to reduce people in crisis calls over time.”
