Rather than closing 10 of the 17 supervised consumption sites in the province, including five in Toronto, labour unions said the Ford government should be opening more of them in response to what they call a "public health emergency."
An open letter signed by the Ontario Federation of Labour, CUPE Ontario, UFCW and several other major unions said the closures announced by Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones will have a significant impact on their membership.
The unions argued the government’s announced Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs are not an adequate replacement to supervised consumption sites, most of which are designated to close because they are within 200 metres of a school or childcare centre.
As reported by TorontoToday sister site The Trillium, Moss Park supervised consumption site nurse Jessica Lyons told reporters at Queen’s Park that she and other frontline workers are “experiencing a very high level of fear and horror and anxiety and anticipatory grief” over the expected deaths that could result from the upcoming closure of their facilities.
“[Clients] are coming to us and asking, ‘I hear you guys are closing down. Is that true?’ And we say we're not going to let it happen because we can't let it happen," Lyons said. "We won't abandon people.”
The unions said rather than "pouring fuel on the fire through devastating cuts," the Ontario government should scale up safe consumption sites across the province as a necessary emergency response.
"Shutting down SCS (supervised consumption sites) means more 911 calls to our paramedics, firefighters and police that could have been diverted. It means more patients and longer wait times in our overrun emergency departments," the unions said.
"It means more overdoses at our job sites, public parks, community centres and library bathrooms, where all workers must regularly respond to critical health emergencies."
"The reality is that people who use drugs are part of our communities and deserve healthcare services. In dense urban environments, it is inaccessible, stigmatizing, and wholly unfeasible to require two football fields of separation between a school or daycare and a healthcare facility, such as a SCS."
