The Ford Government made the deadly decision on November 18 to cut 10 safe consumption sites (SCS).
Without harm reduction services, many communities across the province, especially in Northern Ontario, are left in a vulnerable position. The current opioid crisis has already killed more than 40,000 Canadians. And in Ottawa, the safe consumption sites – that are designed to prevent fatal overdoses by allowing people who use drugs to consume substances with oversight from healthcare workers – have led to more than 6,000 successful overdose interventions since 2020.
SCS ensure that drugs are used in a specific location, with equipment disposed of safely, away from public spaces, such as parks. Closing SCS will only increase deaths, 911 calls, and hospital overcrowding, while leaving frontline workers – including paramedics, healthcare professionals, and construction workers – with the overwhelming burden of handling preventable overdose crises in public spaces. We can’t let that happen.
The Ontario Federation of Labour has been working hard to help keep these critical services open. They have prepared a letter for you to send to the Ford Government to tell them to stop the closures, expand harm reduction, and save lives.
Harm reduction services save lives. The closure of these ten sites will hurt all members of our community. Cuts like these are immoral, reprehensible and stigmatizing. Politicians should not be reducing critical care for our most vulnerable community members – they should be funding these services more to save lives, reduce healthcare costs, and keep communities safer.
We call on the Ford Government to keep these critical services open.