Council debates over future of drug consumption site and integrated care services in Kingston

One motion was deferred while another was passed unanimously.

The supervised drug consumption site on Montreal St was the subject of two motions at City Council on Tuesday night.

These were in response to the Province ending funding resulting in the closure of these sites across Ontario as of this June. 

One motion was from Councillor Jeff McLaren that recommends the City spend $350,000, money he says that had been previously earmarked for the Tragically Hip celebration, in an effort to save the site and keep it open. Among other things, the five-page motion calls for legal action against the provincial government to stop the closure of the site citing it violates Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

McLaren says the health care community will also be brought in to help continue providing harm reduction services.

However, Councillor Brandon Tozzo requested to defer the motion to a later date and that was passed by a 9-3 vote.

Tozzo says while he is in support to keeping the site open, there was not enough time to properly go over this motion.

There were several delegations to talk about the comsumption site at the meeting. All were in support of keeping it open.

Dr. Henry Swoboda of Kingston Health Sciences Centre says the site has kept users safe as they try to rid themselves of drug addiction.

He says replacing these sites with a HART (Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment) hub will not solve the problem.

Still, Tozzo believes deferring the motion will allow Council to make a proper decision.

There was another motion by Councillor Gregory Ridge that will allow the integrated care hub, which is located at the same place as the consumption site, to remain open until a HART hub is established in Kingston. 

That one passed by a 12-0 vote.

Tozzo says it should be up to the Province to make sure people who need treatment get the help they need. 

The Province announced on Mar 13 that they will end funding for supervised consumption site as of June 13. In addition to Kingston, sites in Toronto, Ottawa, and London are also expected to close.

Story by Ken Hashizume