Harm reduction advocates from Sudbury and Timmins headed to Queens Park on May 28 to call on the provincial government to fund safe consumption sites across Ontario, and especially in Northern Ontario.
Hosted by Friends of Ontario SCS, the rally began at Trinity Square, followed by a march to Queen’s Park with a stop in front of Dr. Kieran Moore’s office, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, along the way.
The Friends of Ontario SCS is an informal coalition of community members in Ontario, including Sudbury’s Réseau ACCESS Network, advocating for the government to provide permanent funding for “lifesaving, evidence-based SCS” and to move away from the Consumption and Treatment (CTS) model, said a release from the Coalition.
Attendees at the rally heard from Jason Sereda, DIY Community Health (Timmins) as well as Amber Fritz, former manager of harm reduction services at Sudbury supervised consumption site (a.k.a. The Spot).
“We submitted our application to the provincial government on Aug. 27, 2021,” said Fritz at the rally. “And we’re going on three years of absolute silence.”
The Spot had been awaiting funding from the province since it began operations. Lacking provincial dollars, it first ran on $1.094 million from City of Greater Sudbury coffers, as well as $100,000 from Vale and $30,000 from Wheaton. When that funding ran out, anonymous community donors were able to keep The Spot open for a few months, but it was forced to close on March 29.
In addition to Sudbury-based calls for funding the supervised consumption site, the need for such services in several Ontario cities, including Timmins, Barrie and Windsor, has seen several larger health-care bodies add their voices to the call for the funding of supervised consumption services over the past several months.
These bodies include the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), which held a press conference calling for funding at the finale of Nurses Week. As well, a study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) pointed to the need for these sites. A qualitative study specific to Sudbury and based on surveys of consumption site visitors showed that while location and hours of operation (mostly due to lack of funding) are a challenge, the service is necessary.
There was also an open letter to Health Minister Sylvia Jones and Associate Mental Health and Addictions Minister Michael Tibollo, with more than 70 signatories, calling for a response to the need for supervised sites.
Not only has there been no response to the letter, but the Friends state in their release that “in that time, Sudbury’s SCS was forced to close, Timmins has had to rely on charitable funding to keep operating, and an estimated 800 more Ontarians have died preventable deaths from toxic drugs.”
Fritz said the sites are not just for those who are looking for treatment, but for those who want to use in a safe manner.
“We know that supervised consumption sites save lives. Are they the be-all-and-end-all of this crisis? No, of course not, but they are one tool that is proven to be effective, that is based in evidence,” said Fritz, noting that the first supervised consumption site opened in 1986. “There are over 100 operating worldwide. Clearly, they work. So I don't understand why the process is so difficult to offer a service that is based in evidence and that saves lives. That saves money. And yet here we are.”
The loss, grief and trauma from these preventable deaths reverberate throughout communities, the Friends said in a news release, in homes and in workplaces all across the province, continues the coalition release, before calling for “attention to the province’s inaction and indifference in the face of these ongoing losses and is a demand for immediate change.”
-With files from Jessica Smith Cross
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized communities for Sudbury.com
