Shoemaker among group calling on Ford government to fund drug consumption sites

Mayor Matthew Shoemaker has lent his voice to a group urging the Ford government to take action to fund supervised drug consumption sites in the province.

In a news release sent Monday, the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition said there has been silence from the provincial government a full two weeks after it sent an open letter, endorsed and signed by 51 groups from across Ontario, calling on the province to immediately fund and support supervised consumption sites.

"Despite the coalition’s request for an emergency meeting by March 13, minister of Health Sylvia Jones and associate minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo have not responded," the coalition said in the news release.

A proposed supervised consumption site in Sault Ste. Marie has been in a holding pattern since the province shut down the process for applications for new ones, put in place in response to a shooting last summer outside one such site in Toronto. 

“The province’s actions have put municipal governments, local health boards and even the public in the impossible position of having to either foot the bill for a provincial responsibility or watch their communities suffer,” Shoemaker said in the release. “This crisis is a foremost challenge for municipalities, who don’t have the resources or the mandate to fund health care. We badly need stable support and action from the Government of Ontario and we need it now.”

Shoemaker has been arguing for months that northern Ontario communities like the Sault should have equitable access to addictions services, like supervised consumption sites, as its southern Ontario neighbours.

One week ago, Premier Doug Ford told reporters during an unrelated announcement in Essex County that the province will finish its review of provincially funded consumption and treatment services (CTS) sites soon.

Ford suggested he's not looking to change the total number of CTS sites across the province, which his government has capped at 21.

"In total, we said there'd be 21 sites. We're at 17, so there's four more to go," Ford said at the time.

A supervised consumption site in Windsor was closed in December as it awaited funding. Michael Brennan of Pozitive Pathways said in the release the years-long process to apply for funding has been an irresponsible use of public funds.

“Supervised consumption sites are a proven lifesaving intervention that reduce costs and burdens across our public systems, on police, paramedics and emergency departments. We have complied with every requirement. We cannot wait any longer,” he said.

In the release, Rev. George Bozanich of the Windsor CTS Advocacy Coalition, said without safe consumption services in place, people in Ontario are dying.

“I am horrified. This is a life-and-death emergency, and we are being ignored,” said Bozanich. "These are our children, parents, siblings and neighbours. I cannot imagine the Ministers and the Premier ignoring a similar lifesaving request on any other issue.”