THUNDER BAY – The city's only supervised drug consumption site, Path 525, will close due to the Ontario government's new rules that supervised drug consumption cannot be within 200 metres of schools and childcare facilities.
“I understand those concerns. Absolutely. I think the problem we have is that these addiction and mental health issues exist in our communities now. And, my fear is what's gonna happen when you remove something like Path 525? Actually, the drug use is going to happen more publicly,” Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles told Newswatch on Wednesday.
“It's going to be more of it. It's going to be in our parks, in our communities, it's not going away. So, you can move the problem, but unless you replace it with real solutions, it is going to continue to get worse."
According to a report by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN), Thunder Bay’s opioid toxicity mortality rate per 100,000 population is 59.6 in the first half of 2024 and is considered the second-highest opioid-related death rate in the province.
Sault St. Marie's opioid toxicity mortality rate per 100,000 population is 64.2.
The province said they are spending $378 million on 19 new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs, but HART Hubs will not have a safe supply or needle exchange program.
NorWest Community Health Centres, which operates Path 525, could apply to convert the facility to the HART Hub model, but they have yet to confirm with Dougall Media if they have submitted their application. However, CBC has reported the organization has applied to operate a hub in Thunder Bay.
The issue Stiles heard from her meeting with Path 525 is that without this site “there's no connection to primary care.”
“That's a real concern that was raised with us, that connection directly to primary care and health care issues. We know that a lot of the people who visit Path 525 are really worried,” Stiles said.
She also stated she met with paramedics who have shared their concern that emergency services are not prepared to handle overdoses without knowing what type of poison is in the drug supply.
“We're going to keep pushing for the government to look at the evidence. We know the Auditor General came out with a report just after the government passed their bill to basically ban CTS sites and that report says very clearly that we will see a dramatic increase in opioid-related deaths,” Stiles said.
