The evidence is resounding: supervised consumption sites save lives and support our healthcare system.
Supervised consumption sites (SCS) bring drug use indoors and offer sterile supplies and compassionate care. They limit the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, reducing the strain on our healthcare system. They reduce 911 calls and visits to emergency departments. They lower drug use in nearby parks, streets, and transit. And they connect people to health and social services.
Against the robust evidence that SCS save lives and healthcare dollars, Doug Ford prioritized stigma, ideology, and anecdote in his decision to close 10 sites across Ontario.
Ontarians deserve a government that makes evidence-based decisions to promote health and safety– not one that carelessly follows ideology no matter how many lives are at risk. Join our call to demand that the Ford Conservatives reverse their decision to close much needed supervised consumption sites and expand harm reduction services across the province.
More than 21,000 people have died from toxic, unregulated drugs in this province since Doug Ford was elected. With that scale of death and tragedy, his government should be doing everything in its power to end the toxic unregulated drug crisis and save lives. Both the annual report from the Chief Medical Health Officer and the province’s own expert-appointed review called for the expansion of SCS.
If we had a government that listened to evidence and led with compassion, we’d see an investment in harm reduction. Instead, this government is gutting life-saving services, elevating ideology over evidence and stigma over community safety.
This decision will lead to deaths which are entirely preventable and increase harms in our communities. SCS support our healthcare system, while bringing drug use indoors and away from parks, libraries, and transit. They build community and make sure that people who need healthcare have access to services.
People will die as a result of this decision. That’s why so many are speaking out against it – including doctors, nurses, frontline workers, and countless others.
Join them. Add your voice to the chorus fighting to support and expand harm reduction.