Editor’s note: The following is a letter from Sudbury MPP Jamie West.
Sadly, this weekend marks the closing of 'The Spot', Sudbury's only supervised Consumption Site. As we count our blessings, we must think of our friends, neighbours and loved ones who have been affected and may continue to be affected by the opioid crisis.
I want to be clear: The Spot is closing because the Conservative government has continually chosen not to provide the provincial funding it requires while sitting on billions of taxpayer dollars. That decision will result in losing lives and overwhelm our EMS services.
We need wrap-around support, including addiction support, mental health support and housing. However, Supervised Consumption Sites are a keystone in those services. Without overdose prevention, recovery would never be possible.
Supervised consumption services are grounded in nearly 40 years of evidence. There has never been a single death at one of these sites. They reduce police and ambulance calls, keep people out of busy hospitals, and offer vital support.
Despite all the research, proof and community support for these sites, Ford arbitrarily capped funding to only 21 supervised consumption sites. I'm not sure why, several years later, only 17 sites have received provincial funding. I do know that the Conservative government has chosen not to fund our city's Supervised Consumption Site for two years and seven months.
This massive misstep and failure of judgment has cost us lives and continues to affect the mental health of our friends, family, and neighbours.
Healthcare is a provincial responsibility, but no funding for The Spot has ever come from the province. Instead, our Supervised Consumption Site ran for 16 months without a single penny from the Conservative government. Our city boldly decided to fund it while waiting for Doug Ford to keep his promises. When they couldn't afford to do it any longer, members of our community stepped forward for three months with generous donations.
It should never have been this way.
It's not the responsibility of our city to pay for this service, nor is it the responsibility of our neighbours and community businesses. This funding is a provincial responsibility. The decision to fund only one site in Northern Ontario (Thunder Bay) was a decision made by Doug Ford's Conservative government.
In Sudbury, we don't take no for an answer. From our cancer centre to our PET scanner, we continually prove to Ontario's governments that we are willing to fight for the provincial services we deserve! My fellow MPP France Gélinas and I will continue to stand with you as we demand funding for our Supervised Consumption Site.