Hamilton City Council will vote on endorsing a petition by Waterloo Regional Council calling on Premier Doug Ford to reverse his announced plan to close existing supervised consumption sites on March 31, 2025.
The provincial government plans to replace SCS sites with 19 new “Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs” across the Province.
On September 25, Waterloo’s regional council voted 13-2 to petition Ontario Premier Doug Ford to allow Kitchener’s supervised consumption site to continue operating.
Waterloo Council sent Hamilton City Council a copy of its letter to the Premier.
The letter is on the October 9 Hamilton City Council agenda with a motion to endorse, and to call for the continued operation of Hamilton’s SCS service.
Hamilton’s SCS operates from St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church on James Street South at Jackson Street.
The provincial decision to close SCS sites is widely criticized by medical doctors, social workers, and other specialists who work with vulnerable populations.
The Ontario Progressive Conservative government says the closures are necessary to address crime and disorder near the sites.
The province’s crime statistics have been widely critiqued, with data showing lower comparative crime stats near some SCS sites.
In September, Kingston Mayor Byran Paterson called for that city’s CSC to be closed following an incident outside the site that left two people dead.
The Kingston site has been closed since the September 12 incident. Community groups and medical experts have criticized the Kingston closure.
Hamilton Council will also debate Public Health Vending Machines
Also on Wednesday’s agenda Hamilton Public Health Services and the Greater Hamilton Health Network plan to begin using vending machines to provide public health products, including sterile drug consumption supplies.
On Monday, responding to questions from Ward 8 Councillor John-Paul Danko, the Network and Public Health officials confirmed the supplies will include needles and ‘inhalation’ products that are used to consume street drugs such as crack, heroin, and meth.
City Council was informed the program is provincially mandated and funded, and does not require Council consent.
Danko hastily moved a motion to prohibit the vending machines on City property and to ‘review’ the funding of any organization hosting the machine.
He quickly followed this up with a social media campaign calling on the Conservatives to defund the program.
Danko’s motion is scheduled for debate on November 4. He has the option of putting a motion forth at City Council.
Addendum: Kitchener’s City Council (a lower-tier city within Waterloo Region) passed its own motion calling for the Ford government to reverse its decision.
Production Details v. 1.0.1 Published: October 4, 2024 Last updated: October 6, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Update Record v. 1.0.0 original version v. 1.0.1 added addendum about Kitchener Council endorsement. (Oct 6)