THUNDER BAY – NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says if elected, she's promising to build a 40-bed drug treatment facility in Thunder Bay.
Horwath confirmed the promise on Saturday from Toronto, where mechanical issues forced her to cancel a campaign visit to Thunder Bay for the second time in a matter of weeks. She previously had to cancel plans to come to Thunder Bay and Kenora following a COVID-19 diagnosis.
The as-yet un-costed integrated crisis facility has been proposed by St. Joseph's Care Group, with Horwath saying contaminated drug supplies are leading to some of the highest per-capita drug overdose rates in Canada.
“We know that lives are being lost, that families are experiencing these tragedies ... so the 40-bed detox program or facility is really just one part of the puzzle,” Horwath said, conducting a virtual news conference to address the problem.
“My understanding is every five days two more people lose their lives to an overdose in Thunder Bay and the number of folks suffering from an addiction, but particularly overdoses in Thunder Bay, is something like 10 times greater than the rest of the province's average.”
That's a clear indication for the need for such a facility, but Horwath added it's just a start.
“We're also committed to rehab services that help support people on their journey once they've successfully completed detox,” the NDP leader said.
“We know that the Aboriginal youth transitional centre needs to also be funded and supported and we're committed to that as well.
The second facility has proposed to be built on Junot Avenue, between the Superior North EMS headquarters and the Boys and Girls Club.
“The bottom line is, we can fix this. We can stop the tragedies. We can stop the deaths. We can provide the people with the detox and rehab beds that they need because we can make sure the investments are being made,” Horwath said.
“We have to stop the cuts of the Doug Ford government. We know Doug Ford cut mental health and addiction services when he got elected. We know he has capped the safe consumption sites in our province and is not doing what needs to be done to step up and provide the detox and rehab beds that people need, and in Thunder Bay the need is absolutely great.”
Election Day is June 2.
