Council says no to consumption and treatment site

By Dave Flaherty/The Oshawa Express

As the clock ticked towards 1 a.m., Oshawa city council declined to endorse a plan to bring a consumption and treatment site to the city by a six to five vote.

The decision came after an almost six-hour long meeting, where numerous members of the public passionately spoke in favour and against the application.

Lakeridge Health, the John Howard Society of Durham Region and the Durham Region Health Department are working in partnership on the proposal.

Last fall, the provincial government announced consumption and treatment sites (CTS) would replace the former model of supervised consumption services and overdose prevention sites.

CTS will receive provincial funding and secure a federal exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

However, applications hinge on the approval of the local municipality.

Ontario is investing approximately $25 million to fund 21 CTS across the province.

The application had originally been presented to councillors earlier this month, but council deferred making a decision until they received the results of a public survey and a proposed location.

Paul McGary, director of mental health and addictions for Lakeridge Health said their preferred location was at the Midtown Mall.

He said the landlord of the Midtown Mall was open to the idea, but they had not leased space yet.

In choosing that location, McGary says the team behind the application had done “extensive research” and decided it had the best attributes to serve the clients that would potentially use a CTS.

A public survey was available earlier this month, according to Melissa Hutchinson of Durham Public Health total council.

Nine-hundred and three people responded to the survey, with 61 per cent of them being Oshawa residents.

Hutchinson said 80 per cent of respondents agreed there would be benefits to having a CTS, 73 per cent felt it would result in a reduction of discarded needles in parks and streets, and 71 per cent believed it would reduce the risk of death or injury for drug users.

Fifty-four percent of respondents voiced no concerns with a CTS, while 35 per cent reported they did have some concerns.

Some concerns included enabling and attracting drug use, public safety, the potential proximity of the location to schools or businesses, an increase in crime, impact on property values and a cost to taxpayers.

Responding to questions from several councillors, McGary said no other municipalities were considered for a CTS in Durham Region.

He said this was simply due to data, which shows 65 per cent of all opioid-related EMS calls occur in the City of Oshawa. According to McGary, Oshawa has the sixth highest amount of opioid poisonings in all of Ontario.

Hutchinson noted she felt were some misconceptions about what they were actually proposing.

She explained it is not simply a safe injection or overdose prevention site, nor a methadone clinic.

McGary also noted that even if council had supported their application, there was “no guarantee” a site would come to Oshawa.

He implored a CTS site is not meant to be the only way of addressing the opioid crisis.

“This is one of a multitude of a number of different interventions…which are all headed to engage people in a range of care options,” he said.

After the meeting, McGary called council’s decision a “disappointing outcome.”

He said he believes the available data “speaks volumes” about the need for such a service in Oshawa.

Noting the application is now for all intents and purposes dormant, McGary is unsure if there will ever be another opportunity.

“We have no idea what the future holds,” he said.

A council divided

Numerous councillors were clear of their support from the beginning, but some others noted they had gone back and forth on the issue in their minds.

All members of council had plenty to say on the issue.

In opposition:

Ward 5 city councillor John Gray

Gray said CTS would be a “band-aid” fix to the opioid crisis.

“It’s all about enabling…well the cure is more important to me, that is where the focus should be,” Gray noted.

The former mayor recalled being told there would be no problems if a methadone clinic came to Oshawa.

“We were promised…well I’ll be honest with you, we had problems,” he said.

Gray said he abhorred the concept of the site is “so in your face.”

While he said he had sympathy for those who are facing addiction problems, Gray said, “there has to be respect for the whole community.”

Ward 2 regional councillor Tito Dante-Marimpietri

Marimpietri said it was a “significant issue” and a well-presented plan, but he contended the service should be located somewhere within Lakeridge Health’s existing facilities.

“I fundamentally believe this should be in a hospital or clinic setting,” he said.

He also noted that Oshawa is already home to a number of social services and he was “very disappointed to note that other communities haven’t been approached.”

“At some point, you can only stretch the elastic so far until it breaks. And we’re at our breaking point,” Marimpietri said.

Ward 2 city councillor Jane Hurst

Hurst noted she had gone back and forth on the issue but she didn’t believe 900 respondents was a clear indication to show the public’s support.

Ward 1 city councillor Rosemary McConkey

To McConkey, the idea of the CTS is a “simple answer” to a “complex problem” of the opioid crisis.

She cited a statement by McGary earlier in the meeting when he said they wouldn’t turn away a pregnant woman if she came to use their services.

She went on to say the police and government have to step up and get the spread of fentanyl in the community under control.

Ward 3 city councillor Bradley Marks

Stating he was doing so with a “heavy heart,” Marks did not support the application.

He felt council had been rushed with the timeline of the project, and he wished there was more information for them to review.

“It was a sticking point for me,” he said.

Marks also noted that the majority of residents who called him were very concerned about the potential site.

Ward 1 regional councillor John Neal

Neal was of the opinion the site should be located at Lakeridge Health, and that another municipality should have been considered.

“Another issue has been dumped on the [City of Oshawa and its council],” Neal said.

In favour:

Ward 4 city councillor Derek Giberson

Giberson brought forth the defeated motion to support the application.

He admitted the issue had “come on quickly and with little notice” but the feedback he’d heard from the community has “largely been in support.”

Referring to the public survey, Giberson said 550 responses out of a population of 170,000 is “actually considered a useful sample.”

Giberson said deferring to a future date to make a decision would stop people from continuing to die.

“Someone who is not alive cannot seek treatment.”

Speaking after his motion was defeated, Giberson said councillors had consistently thanked those behind the application for their “expertise,” but it wasn’t enough.

“We are essentially telling them that we don’t believe they are experts in the field,” he said, sarcastically noting some council members were “experts in addictions.”

“Somehow doing nothing is better than doing something,” and I do not understand that at all.”

Ward 4 regional councillor Rick Kerr

Kerr said the measure of success for a CTS would not be a “100 per cent cure of people who use opioids.”

“This is about harm reduction,” Kerr said, noting that there was “zero cost” to the city and very little long-term risk.

“If the data doesn’t add up, the provincial government isn’t going to support it either. We aren’t going to be locked.”

Ward 5 regional councillor Brian Nicholson

Despite voting in favour, Nicholson was critical of the entire process.

He accused the provincial and federal governments of either being “oblivious” to the opioid crisis, or “they simply don’t consider it a priority.”

“I believe that this entire approval process was designed to fail. The timelines were unsustainable, the guidelines were negligible,” he said. “Our medical staff were left to cope as best they could. In good faith, they brought us the best plan the province would allow.”

Nicholson said he believes the provincial government put together a plan so municipal councils would vote against it so “they’d be off the hook.”

He called on Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to address the opioid crisis.

“Don’t run away anymore. You know the right thing to do….shame on both of you,” he said.

Ward 3 regional councillor Bob Chapman

Chapman said CTS was the best option provided by the federal and provincial government, and it was an opportunity “to at least try to do something to at least save some lives.”

He also defended the choice of the Midtown Mall as a location, comparing it to a business finding its market.

“That’s where you are going to start your business,” he said.

Mayor Dan Carter

Carter said he was “disappointed” with the timeline of the application process.

He also agreed the federal and provincial governments should do more, and pharmaceutical companies should take more responsibility for the spread of opioid abuse.

However, the mayor stated his support hinged on his view “we’ve got to do everything we possibly can to save people’s lives.”