London’s chief medical officer of health says the province’s decision to review the merit of temporary overdose prevention sites means the government is looking to bring research into public policy.
On Monday, the province announced three new overdose-prevention sites won’t open as scheduled.
Health Minister Christine Elliot said they will be conducting a review to determine if the harm-reduction practices have merit.
“I think in the minds of people who are seeing this from the outside it could be concerning. At this point, this is a minister that’s talking about bringing research evidence into public policy and that’s the kind of thing that really excites me as a technocrat that wants to do a good job based on good evidence. So that’s not concerning to me at all,” Mackie explained.
“On the other hand, in Thunder Bay, where they have one of the highest overdose death rates in the province and they’ve been asked to put their temporary overdose prevention site on hold, I can see how people would be pretty frustrated there.”
Mackie also noted that determining the value of the sites depends on how you interpret the evidence.
Last week, a representative of the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection said the site had prevented at least 11 overdoses since it opened in mid-February.
Elliot said Monday that planned sites in Thunder Bay, St. Catharines, and Toronto would be put on hold until the review is complete.
The results are expected Sept. 30, the same day extended funding for London’s site ends.
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