Closure of supervised consumption sites could become Ontario election issue, former mayor says

A former Toronto mayor says advocates could push to make the closure of 10 supervised consumption sites a provincial election issue if Ontario goes to the polls this year.

John Sewell spoke before a public meeting on Monday night that brought together former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne, former Toronto mayors David Crombie and Barbara Hall, and Toronto city councillor Chris Moise. 

"If those sites are closed, we're going to be in real trouble. People are going to be dying on the streets," Sewell told reporters on Monday at Trinity St. Paul's Church.

"I hope that we can apply some political pressure," he said. "If an election is coming, we can raise it during the election."

Last summer, Ontario announced it would close 10 of the province's 23 safe injection sites. Earlier this month, it said nine of those sites will transition to Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs that will focus on addiction treatment and recovery instead of harm reduction.

Sewell, one of the organizers of the meeting, said he has been interested in the issue since 2015, when he and Crombie brought together a group of about 40 prominent Torontonians to lobby city council to establish a supervised consumption site in the city.

When Sewell said he heard Ontario Premier Doug Ford was going to close the sites, he thought "wow" and that the closure of the sites would create problems. 

He said the evidence is clear that harm reduction works.

"I don't know what kind of evidence the province is using when it's saying these are a serious problem. They aren't. They solve problems. They don't create them. Sites save lives," Sewell said.

Sewell said a Charter challenge of the legislation banning the sites within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres will be heard in mid-March.

On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford fuelled speculation of an early election call when he said he may have to "let the people decide" if his government should spend billions to offset the impact of potential incoming American tariffs.

Wynne, who moderated the discussion, said she would like to have a civil conversation about the evidence and to let the community hear from the experts.

"This decision is going to put people's lives at risk," she said.

Wynne said she thinks the government simply doesn't believe in harm reduction because if it was simply a matter of where the sites are located, it could have had a discussion about regulations, not close 10 sites down entirely.

"If we don't believe in harm reduction, then we're willing to have people die because we're leaving a whole gap in the continuum of treatment and care."

When asked the government's plans, Wynne said an early election is not needed because the Ford government has a mandate until 2026. But she said it seems that the premier is intent on calling an early election.

"It's entirely possible that he might go now. He's feeling a bit of success in terms of being a voice for Canada and I'm not diminishing that in any way. But I think that may feed into the calculation about calling an early election. He's not asking me so I don't know," she added.

In August, Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced that the 10 consumption sites would close by March 2025. She said the province would ban them within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres. Five of the 10 slated to close are in Toronto.

"Communities, parents and families across Ontario have made it clear that the presence of consumption sites near schools and daycares is leading to serious safety problems," Jones said in an August 20, 2024 news release.

"We need to do more to protect public safety, especially for young school children, while helping people get the treatment they need, which is why we're taking the next step to expand access to a broad range of treatment and recovery services, while keeping kids and communities safe."

Jones added that the sites would be given the option to transition into HART Hubs.

In November, the government introduced the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act to enable it to shut down the sites. The bill passed in December. Along with the Community Care and Recovery Act, the legislation would prohibit the operation of the sites within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres.

In January, the government announced that nine existing supervised drug consumption sites will transition to become HART hubs and the treatment hubs will be located in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, Guelph and Thunder Bay.

Jones has said the government plans to open 19 of the treatment hubs and 375 highly supportive housing units at a planned cost of $378 million. The hubs will not provide a safe supply of illicit drugs, supervised consumption services or needle exchange programs.