Mayoral candidate Bill Crumplin says the city should be spending "political capital" to bring a safe injection site to the city.
A safe injection site is a place where intravenous drug users are provided clean needles and trained medical staff to monitor their drug injections. They've been shown to lower overdose rates and the spread of disease.
“The opioid crisis is real, and it’s getting worse,” Crumplin is quoted in an Aug. 4 news release. “We should be doing all that we can to fight this crisis. We know supervised injection sites work. Study after study after study show that safe injection sites reduce the risk of overdose. They save lives. But now, Doug Ford’s ideologically motivated government is putting the brakes on funding. This is both absurd and intolerable.”
He said Sudbury should be using its influence — its political capital — to push for change.
“If the province wants to get out of funding safe injection sites, Greater Sudbury has no choice but to pick up the slack,” Crumplin said. “I realize that there will be a cost to going it alone, but look at what we’re paying already, in terms of policing and health care – and the biggest cost of all: human lives.”
In February, city council supported a proposal from our City’s Community Drug Strategy group (http://www.takeactionsudbury.ca/) to seek funding for a feasibility study for a supervised injection site, including seeking funds from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care or the Northeast Local Health Integration Network.
But Crumplin said Ontario’s new Health Minister, Christine Elliot, placed provincial funding for safe injection sites on hold.
“Minister Elliot says she wants to study whether supervised injection sites have merit,” he said. “This is just nonsense. It’s already been studied, and her questions have all been answered. But our new Conservative government seems keen on ignoring evidence.”
If elected mayor, Crumplin vowed to "lead the charge" for a safe injection site.
“I’ll work with community partners who are dealing with the opioid crisis on the ground – partners like the Sudbury and District Health Unit, and the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth. I’ll work with our provincial MPPs and our federal MPs," he said "I’ll spend the political capital. I know we can do this. I know we must do it. This crisis demands action, and it’s action we must take.”
