A petition calling for Hamilton City Council to designate public libraries as safe drug consumption sites will be debated at the upcoming meeting of Hamilton’s Public Health Sub-Committee.

The 115 signatories want the City of Hamilton to create and fund ‘safe drug consumption sites’ outside Hamilton’s public libraries.

The petition requests that the City install heated shelters, similar to those used for bus stops, outside libraries to reduce indoor drug use. It states that there should be “no cameras” monitoring these spaces because trained staff should be present at all times.

The petition states that the City should begin at the Central, Barton, and Red Hill branches.

It also calls for increasing the “availability of social services AT” libraries. [Petition’s emphasis.]

The provincial government closed Hamilton’s supervised consumption site as part of a province-wide policy change to implement treatment-focused HART sites, which Premier Doug Ford says will better assist people to get supports towards permanent housing and to address addictions.

Petitioner Tyler Dhaliwal will delegate and present the petition to the committee.

The Committee will meet on Monday, April 28, 2025, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Public correspondence can be sent to clerks@hamilton.ca, or delegation requests made on the City website, until 12:00 noon on Friday.

Addendum:

Ward 2 Councillor Cameron Kroetsch, who chairs the Public Health Sub-Committee, posted to Facebook this evening to state the petitioners have the right to delegate to Council, and that the petition is included in the agenda package “so everyone could see it.”

“It’s there for information, not for approval, just so the citizen members of the Sub-Committee didn’t have trouble finding it. I did this to ensure it was accessible and easy to find and for no other reason,” he writes.

Happy to clarify. All residents have the right to sign petitions and submit them to Council and Committee. That's all that's happening here. The petition was added as an Item for Information because that's how the new Procedural By-law works. Correspondence is submitted in one place, not added to agendas automatically as it was in the past. In order for the petition itself to be present when the delegate speaks, a member of Council or Committee has to put it on the Agenda so it can be easily seen by the public and other members. Since the Public Health Sub-Committee isn't made up of all Councillors, it made sense for me, as Chair, to ask for it to be added to the Agenda. It's there for information, not for approval, just so the citizen members of the Sub-Committee didn't have trouble finding it. I did this to ensure it was accessible and easy to find and for no other reason. For context about the issue itself, this was a petition written, distributed, and signed by residents. As I said when this was emailed to me by one of the petitioners, the Province is not approving any safe consumption site applications at the moment and has entirely shut that process down. Public Health has no way to make such an application under the current government. The petitioners are welcome to send this to the Hamilton Public Library Board of Directors for their information, but the HPL cannot unilaterally make such an application, even if there was a process to apply. I hope that clears up any confusion about this.

The petition is captured in the image below.

Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: April 23, 2025
Last updated: April 23, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman

Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
v. 1.1.0 added Facebook comments posted by Clr Kroetsch

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  1. Reply

  2. I protest allowing safe injection sights in branches of the Hamilton Public Library. Please know as a form HPL and TPL we helped the public do research, attend public programming for children and adults and help the public take out library materials and media. HPL is not a health care centre. Safe injection of drugs is for the addicts who seek nursing care not library materials.

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  3. Do people not realize that OUR children use libraries!?!? This is a ridiculous idea.

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  4. I do not think this should be passed there are kids and elderly people who use the library’s daily and we already have enough safe consumption site do we really need another place for drugs to ruin are community

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    1. This elderly person won’t set foot in Central Library. Have been assaulted there, have witnessed security guards dealing with overdoses and general freakouts as well as breaking up fights. They also tend to barge into the washrooms doing “sweeps”.
      When I need to go to a library I get on a bus to one of the suburban branches.

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  5. Please don’t do this. It’s a terrible idea. Children and elderly people visit the library and shouldn’t be exposed for safety reasons. Who are these 115 signatories and why is this not up for public debate? We are all tax payers and should have a voice in this matter. Maybe resources would be better utilized by providing shelter and treatment rather than enabling addiction.

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    1. Hi. The issue is up for debate on Monday.
      Anyone can delegate to Council, and then Council can chose to act or simply thank the delegate at the end of the allocated five minutes delegates receive.

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  6. Not a good idea. Too many kids around. No one is equipped to deal with the fallout from overdosing or possible violence. Risk to.publuc health from disposed needles.

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  7. No! this is not a solution. Children uses libraries, it’s bad enough they have overtaken any greenspace we have to enjoy! keep away from libraries.

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  9. This is outrageous to even consider. As a home owner and tax payer born and raised in Hamilton I feel betrayed by our city. It feels like I am supporting these drug habits. Very poor decisions are being made at our expense.

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  10. First of all this is insane. Secondly,any attempt made to humour this issue mustcbe dealt with immediate dismissal.

    Reply