Mayor Ford opposed to supervised injection sites in Toronto

TORONTO – Mayor Rob Ford reiterated his opposition to establishing supervised injection sites in Toronto.

The city’s board of health is reviewing a motion Wednesday asking the province to fund injection sites in existing health clinics in Toronto.

But the province’s Health Minister, Toronto’s chief of police and the mayor have all rejected the idea already.

Ontario Health Minister Deb Mathews said in an emailed statement that injections sites “aren’t something that we’re moving forward with right now.”

“But we do believe in an evidence-based approach to harm reduction.  We support efforts to examine the efficacy of different approaches to harm reduction in Ontario,” she said.

The motion also calls for the board to register its opposition to the federal government’s Bill C-65, intended to make it harder to set up a supervised injection site.

The injection sites distribute sterile needles and provide a supervised area for people to get high. Vancouver’s InSite, which won a Supreme Court battle against the federal government in 2011, remains the only one in Canada.

According to the city report, injection drug use is considered a risky behaviour that can lead to overdose and transmission of diseases like HIV and hepatitis. Supervised injection sites are supposed to lower those risks and help get addicts into treatment.

If recommended by the city’s Board of Health, the report will then go to city council for final approval.