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Today, The Neighbourhood Group Community Services (TNGCS) has taken legal action against the Community Care and Recovery Act, which was recently passed in the Ontario Legislature as part of Bill 223. The Act will force the closure of at least 10 supervised consumption sites (SCS, also known as consumption and treatment services) across Ontario, and result in increased toxic drug deaths and devastating health outcomes for people who use substances. 

This deadly bill was hastily passed on December 4th with no debate, nor input from those with lived experience and other experts, including those who provide this life-saving healthcare. The Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site (KMOPS), operated by TNGCS, will be forced to close by the end of March 2025 because the Act prohibits SCS from operating within 200 metres of schools and childcare centres. At a time when overdose deaths are at record levels, the closure will prevent service providers from providing healthcare where it is most needed.

Yet, evidence in support of supervised consumption sites is clear:

• Preliminary data from Toronto Public Health shows the extent of the crisis: in 2023, 523 people died from opioid toxicity in Toronto, a staggering 74% increase from 2019.
• A recent policy paper from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario showed that overdose deaths declined by 42% since the introduction of SCS.
• There have been zero overdose deaths at KMOPS since its inception in 2018, despite the fact that it has been in continuous operation.

“The closure of the sites will undoubtedly result in a significant loss of life,” says Katie Resendes, one of the applicants in the lawsuit. “Those of us that use the sites do not have a death wish as some may think. Please be aware of the devastation that will occur when those who rely on the sites are unable to access them.” 

TNGCS and Ms. Resendes along with another applicant, Kitchener-based Jean  -Pierre Aubry Forgues, are bringing an application seeking an order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that the Act violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, or, in the alternative, that it is otherwise unconstitutional because it encroaches on Canada’s exclusive jurisdiction over criminal law. 

There is near-unanimous consensus about these impending closures’ negative effects, which the Government of Ontario knows and is choosing to ignore, including through leaked advice from their own counsel. Numerous studies, including internal government reports and independent evaluations, consistently demonstrate the public health and safety benefits of SCS. SCS in Ontario have recorded 1.12 million visits from 178,000 unique clients since March 2020, according to a recent report, and have successfully reversed 22,000 overdoses and facilitated more than 530,000 service referrals to housing, case management, substance use treatment, and more.

“First and foremost, we are service providers committed to the health and well-being of members of our community,” says Bill Sinclair, CEO of the Neighbourhood Group. “We are doing what we need to do to save lives and deliver the best care possible to those who depend on us. Our care for and responsibility to them has led us to take this legal action.”

Data from Toronto demonstrates that neighbourhoods with SCS experienced 67% reductions in overdose mortality, while other neighbourhoods showed no significant decreases. SCS also reduce public drug use and discarded drug use equipment and a recent study found decreases in rates of homicide, assault, and robbery in the vicinity of an SCS after opening — directly contradicting the Ontario government’s claim that crime has increased in neighbourhoods with these sites compared to others.

“We are seeing a troubling trend within public discourse and public policy — the vilification of people who use drugs,” says Sandra Ka Hon Chu, Co-Executive Director of the HIV Legal Network. “We have seen a desire to use the law to punish the most marginalized among us and remove their access to health care. Today, we are using the law to try to support, rather than punish, our community members.”

The Government of Ontario’s decision to push this bill through the legislature shows a complete disregard for the health and lives of people who use substances in this province. People will die because of the Community Care and Recovery Act. We cannot allow this to go unchallenged and our legal action today seeks to reverse this dire course. 
 

For more information, please contact:

Laina Gibson  
Vice President, Philanthropy and Communications of The Neighbourhood Group Community Services
(T) 647.458.1649 | laina.gibson@tngcs.org

Dylan DeMarsh
Digital and Strategic Communications Officer of HIV Legal Network
705.772.7240 | d.dmarsh@hivlegalnetwork.ca

Rahool Agarwal
Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP
(T) 416 645 1787 | ragarwal@lolg.ca

Carlo Di Carlo
Stockwoods LLP
(T) 416 593 2485 | carlodc@stockwoods.ca

Avnish Nanda
Nanda & Company
(T) 780 916 9860 | avnish@nandalaw.ca