Drug users want government to end review of overdose prevention sites
More than 60 people died from overdoses in Ottawa in 2017
Drug consumers in Ottawa are calling on the provincial government to end its review of overdose prevention sites.
Dozens of people rallied Friday outside the Human Rights Monument on Elgin Street for International Overdose Awareness Day, calling for better health care for drug users, more overdose prevention sites and programs, and more 24/7 supervised injection sites.
Since coming into power, Premier Doug Ford's PC government has put several approved overdose prevention sites on pause while the government studies the issue.
Last year, more than 60 people died from overdoses in Ottawa.
Four people who have used drugs shared their thoughts on the Ontario government's review of provincially funded overdose prevention sites.
Jennifer Bigelow
"I think it's the craziest thing. Do they not have a friggin' brain in their head? Can they not open their eyes and see what's happening on our city streets all over, on sidewalks, behind any kind of gate? People are dying. People are overdosing and dying," she said.
"But my god, what if tomorrow it's your grandchild, your niece, your brother? Do you really know? Because addicts can hide their addiction very, very well until they can't hide it anymore, until they're dead."
Kelly Florence
"I think it's ridiculous ... there's still people dying at huge rates. It may be cut back a bit, but that's because of the safe injection sites. That's because of the naloxone kits. So, to pull funding for [overdose prevention sites], it has about as much thought put into that as they did when they took Oxycontin off the shelf."
Catherine Hacksel
"It's completely unethical. It's state violence, essentially. I mean look at Parkdale ... I don't frankly understand how that's legal to block a service when you know that there's death happening in that community where people may have wanted to access an overdose prevention site."
Billy Jean Mardon
"My first time I went into the hospital, I was still on methadone, and it took like three days for me to get my methadone in hospital. So, if I hadn't have been finding ways to get heroin delivered to me, I would have been withdrawing. I don't know why it takes so long to get my medicine … they should have places to get clean stuff at the hospital too because that was another problem I ran into."
