Originally expected to welcome users sometime this month, the supervised consumption site at Energy Court in downtown Greater Sudbury is no longer expected to open in March.
“Site construction has been affected by the global supply chain issues as well as relatively minor change orders which have caused some delay and that all are working hard to mitigate,” according to a Public Health Sudbury and Districts spokesperson’s emailed correspondence.
The site construction lead on this project is the City of Greater Sudbury, with Réseau ACCESS Network the lead organization for services and operations and Public Health Sudbury and Districts a partner to establish what they refer to as a “critical harm reduction service.”
In emailed correspondence, a city spokesperson said they have continued working with Public Health and Réseau ACCESS to complete construction of the facility, located behind the Your Independent Grocer on Lorne Street. An updated timeline was not provided, with the city noting that they are currently evaluating and reviewing the information they have.
Emailed correspondence sent to the city’s elected officials this week also noted that in addition to supply chain issues, some work is unable to take place until the ground thaws and that more details will be provided in the coming days.
In addition to seeing its construction completed, the site will also require a successful visit by Health Canada officials to receive federal approval to operate.
“We are actively working with Health Canada and all partners to have this site inspection completed as soon as possible,” a Public Health Sudbury and Districts spokesperson said, adding that this inspection cannot take place until construction is complete.
On federal approvals, Sudbury Liberal MP Viviane Lapointe tweeted this week that she is “actively working with the appropriate departments” on this project.
Sudbury.com reached out to Lapointe for comment but has yet to receive a response.
Site work on the supervised consumption site began last year and consists of three modular used trailers placed on cribbing and linked together side by side.
The facility, approved by city council last summer at a startup cost of no greater than $800,000 and an annual operational cost of $1.1 million, is a harm reduction effort that allows drug users a space to inject their drugs while being supervised by medical professionals.
A walkthrough of the site’s floor plan reveals a facility where people enter the building at one side of the triple-trailer setup and follow a path toward an exit on the other side. Along the way, they check in, inject their drugs at a booth while being observed by nursing staff, and proceed to sit in a lounge area or wash themselves off. Washrooms are also available for people to wash themselves off.
During 2022 budget deliberations in December, city council reaffirmed their commitment to the project, but credited its $1.1-million operational cost on a provincial investment they have yet to receive. What Mayor Brian Bigger referred to at the time as a “measured risk” was intended to help pare down this year’s tax increase, though he affirmed at the time that the project would continue regardless of whether the province comes forward with the funding.
In the event provincial funding does not come forward, city administration will draft a report to city council outlining their funding options.
After Bigger declared in November that he felt “ghosted” by provincial officials as it related to funding to tackle the city’s homelessness and opioid crises, he has clarified that the lines of communication have improved. City council’s intention is for their operational funding for this project to be temporary until such time as the province steps up to fund it.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
