Health officials decry Cambridge MPP's 'misinformation' about drug site

Officials at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, the Cambridge North Dumfries Ontario Health Team and Sanguen Health Centre have denounced a pamphlet mailed to people in the city this week that offers what they say is "misinformation" on a proposed consumption and treatment site.

In a statement shared by the group, the Ontario Health Team said it therefore felt the need to "respond and provide accurate information."

MPP Belinda Karahalios's office confirmed the provincial politician sent the pamphlet. 

It says Karahalios has heard from residents of Cambridge and the "overwhelming majority of residents say no" to a consumption and treatment site.

Karahalios' pamphlet also says Mayor Kathryn McGarry has been advocating for safe supply — that is, when regulated substances are provided to people who use drugs at a consumption and treatment site to avoid having them use drugs from the illicit market where other things could be mixed in, causing serious adverse reactions including death.

The pamphlet has a link to an online survey asking people if they support a consumption and treatment site and if they are "in favour of the distribution of taxpayer-funded opioids and stimulants in Cambridge."

Mayor 'frustrated and disgusted' by pamphlet

In a statement on her Facebook page and on Twitter, McGarry said she was "frustrated and disgusted" to find the pamphlet in her mailbox this week.

"As more and more people die of preventable overdoses in our community, and across our province and country, playing politics like this is not helpful," McGarry wrote.

She noted health and social service officials have said the consumption and treatment sites in Kitchener, Guelph and other communities have helped those who use drugs get help when they need and want it.

"This is damaging and demoralizing, for those actually doing the work in our community day in and day out, for those seeking support and for those supporting a loved one with addiction," McGarry wrote.

The city approved a consumption and treatment site at 150 Main Street in Galt in October 2021 after years of debate. McGarry said work to put forward an application to the province "is in the early stages."

Pamphlet approved under legislative rules

Karahalios' office said the MPP was not available for a phone interview on Friday. In a statement, the office said the pamphlet was "approved under the legislative rules at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario."

The statement from Karahalios echoed the pamphlet, that the MPP has heard from people about the consumption and treatment site and the majority of the people she has spoken to disagree with having one in the city.

Karahalios sits in Queen's Park as a member of the New Blue Party of Ontario, which she formed with her husband Jim after she was ejected from the Progressive Conservative caucus for voting against the government.

When asked by CBC Kitchener-Waterloo what should be done about addiction and treatment in Cambridge, she said, "special interests like Sanguen and unelected bureaucrats must stop using slanderous rhetoric as a weapon to defend their political positions and silence open dialogue.

"This facility must be stopped from opening," Karahalios added. "The vicious cycle of addiction must be broken ... [and] ... we must elect a new Ontario government that will demand the Trudeau Liberals tighten border controls to stop the flooding of toxic drugs from coming into Canada from places like China." 

CTS 'not a political issue': Health officials

The Cambridge North Dumfries Ontario Health Team issued a statement saying consumption and treatment sites "are proven to work, both in saving lives and addressing many community concerns that come with substance use."

"Substance use is not a political issue, it is a matter of life and death for so many in our community," the statement said.

This statement from the health team was shared by Cambridge Memorial Hospital on its social media accounts and on its website.

Sanguen Health Centre, which operates the consumption and treatment site in Kitchener, also tweeted the health team's statement.

"The facts are CTS saves lives. Full stop. Misinformation to the contrary is inflammatory and is rooted in fear and stigma," the Sanguen tweet read.

Karahalios responded to that in her email to CBC News, saying, "Sanguen has a vested interest in defending the imposition of such a facility in Cambridge because this facility is part of their business model which is why they make slanderous statements like this without backing up their claim and without identifying a single aspect of the communication that was not factual, accurate, or truthful."

The Waterloo Region Drug Strategy says there were 99 suspected overdose deaths in the region in 2021, down slightly from 106 people in 2020. So far this year, as of March 4, there have been eight deaths.