Government of Ontario Attempting to Force Through Deadly Drug Policy Bill

This statement can be attributed to the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, the Drug Strategy Network of Ontario, and the HIV Legal Network.

November 27, 2024 — Toronto, ON | We are watching with grave concern as the Government of Ontario attempts to force through radical legislation that will eliminate life-saving supervised consumption services (SCS) and prevent access to other evidence-based responses to an unregulated drug crisis that is killing 10 people in Ontario every single day. 

We appeal to the government to withdraw their time allocation motion. Experts in the care for people with substance use disorder and other people who use drugs are anxious for the opportunity to speak to Committee about this bill and the devastating effects it will have on Ontarians. The opportunity for such expertise to inform the contents of this Bill is an opportunity afforded by our parliamentary democracy for good reason. It ensures that our laws are informed by evidence and lived experience.

“The government’s attempt on Tuesday to force this devastating bill through the legislature — without debate or committee study — sent a very clear messages to all people in this province: democratic process doesn’t matter, evidence doesn’t matter, and the workload of health, medical, social service and first response workers doesn’t matter,” says Michael Parkinson of the Drug Strategy Network of Ontario. “Most frighteningly, the government is saying that people’s lives in Ontario do not matter.”

The Premier and Health Minister are well aware of the appalling consequences that will follow if these vital health services are prohibited. “The government has been warned by their own internal counsel of the devastation expected to occur in communities across Ontario, particularly among Black, Indigenous, and low-income people,” says Beeta Senedjani of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition. “This bill would legislate an increase in deaths of our loved ones, public drug use in our neighbourhoods, and healthcare costs that will affect all taxpayers.” In bypassing debate and committee review, the Ontario government would silence elected representatives, community members, and public health and scientific experts who would have provided the evidence that SCS are, unequivocally, in the public interest.

According to both internal government advice and independent evaluations, it is widely expected that this proposed law will:

  • Kill, injure, or otherwise harm people in Ontario by removing their access to life-saving harm reduction services in the event of an overdose emergency; 
  • Increase drug use in public places such as parks and school yards; 
  • Increase the chances of people, including children, witnessing overdose emergencies; 
  • Increase the amount of discarded drug use equipment in public spaces; 
  • Increase the workload for already overburdened first responders, hospital emergency rooms, and other frontline staff; 
  • Reduce ambulance availability for all members of the public; and 
  • Increase costs to taxpayers.

There is near-unanimous consensus about the negative impacts these impending closures will have, of which the Government of Ontario is aware and is willfully choosing to ignore. Ample studies, including internal government reports and independent evaluations, consistently demonstrate the public health and safety benefits of SCS. Ontario’s supervised consumption services have recorded 1.12 million visits from 178,000 unique clients since March 2020, according to a recent report, and have successfully reversed 22,000 overdoses and facilitated more than 530,000 service referrals to housing, case management, substance use treatment, and more. Additionally, data from Toronto demonstrate that neighbourhoods with supervised consumption services subsequently experienced 67 per cent reductions in overdose mortality, while other neighbourhoods showed no significant decreases. These services are desperately needed. 

SCS also reduce public drug use and discarded drug use equipment. Contrary to the Ontario government’s claims that crime has increased in neighbourhoods with SCS relative to other neighbourhoods, a recent study found decreases in rates of homicide, assault, and robbery in the vicinity of an SCS after opening.

If passed as drafted, Ontario would soon see the dire impact of government officials determining health policy based on opinions, ideology, and political calculations instead of public interest. “Our loved ones will die. Our communities will suffer. The Government of Ontario knows this, and is proceeding with reckless abandon,” says Sandra Ka Hon Chu of HIV Legal Network. “Our organizations — and many others across the province, country, and globally — will continue to advocate for SCS to remain open.” 

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Media Contacts: 

For more information about SCS and the current state of the law in Canada, see this recent report from the HIV Legal Network: https://www.hivlegalnetwork.ca/site/scaling-up-supervised-consumption-services-what-has-changed-in-canada/?lang=en

About Canadian Drug Policy Coalition

Advocating for public health- and human rights-based drug policy grounded in evidence, compassion, and social justice