{"id":24587,"date":"2024-11-27T15:39:33","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T20:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/?post_type=news22&p=24587"},"modified":"2024-11-28T08:45:30","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T13:45:30","slug":"media-statement-the-government-of-ontario-is-attempting-to-force-through-a-deadly-drug-policy-bill","status":"publish","type":"news22","link":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/media-statement-the-government-of-ontario-is-attempting-to-force-through-a-deadly-drug-policy-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Statement: The Government of Ontario is Attempting to Force Through a Deadly Drug Policy Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"This statement can be attributed to the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, the Drug Strategy Network<\/em>
\nof Ontario, and the HIV Legal Network.<\/em><\/p>\n

November 27, 2024 \u2014 Toronto, ON | We are watching with grave concern as the Government of
\nOntario attempts to force through radical legislation that will eliminate life-saving supervised
\nconsumption services (SCS) and prevent access to other evidence-based responses to an
\nunregulated drug crisis that is killing 10 people in Ontario every single day.<\/p>\n

We appeal to the government to withdraw their time allocation motion. Experts in the care for
\npeople with substance use disorder and other people who use drugs are anxious for the
\nopportunity to speak to Committee about this bill and the devastating effects it will have on
\nOntarians. The opportunity for such expertise to inform the contents of this Bill is an opportunity
\nafforded by our parliamentary democracy for good reason. It ensures that our laws are informed by
\nevidence and lived experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government\u2019s attempt on Tuesday to force this devastating bill through the legislature \u2014
\nwithout debate or committee study \u2014 sent a very clear messages to all people in this
\nprovince: democratic process doesn\u2019t matter, evidence doesn\u2019t matter, and the workload of
\nhealth, medical, social service and first response workers doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d says Michael
\nParkinson of the Drug Strategy Network of Ontario. \u201cMost frighteningly, the government is saying
\nthat people\u2019s lives in Ontario do not matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Premier and Health Minister are well aware of the appalling consequences that will follow if
\nthese vital health services are prohibited. \u201cThe government has been warned by their own
\ninternal counsel of the devastation expected to occur in communities across Ontario,
\nparticularly among Black, Indigenous, and low-income people,\u201d says Beeta Senedjani of the
\nCanadian Drug Policy Coalition. \u201cThis bill would legislate an increase in deaths of our loved
\nones, public drug use in our neighbourhoods, and healthcare costs that will affect all
\ntaxpayers.\u201d In bypassing debate and committee review, the Ontario government would silence
\nelected representatives, community members, and public health and scientific experts who would
\nhave provided the evidence that SCS are, unequivocally, in the public interest.<\/p>\n

According to both internal government advice<\/a> and independent evaluations<\/a>, it is widely expected
\nthat this proposed law will:
\n\u2022 Kill, injure, or otherwise harm people in Ontario by removing their access to life-saving harm
\nreduction services in the event of an overdose emergency;
\n\u2022 Increase drug use in public places such as parks and school yards;
\n\u2022 Increase the chances of people, including children, witnessing overdose emergencies;
\n\u2022 Increase the amount of discarded drug use equipment in public spaces;
\n\u2022 Increase the workload for already overburdened first responders, hospital emergency
\nrooms, and other frontline staff;
\n\u2022 Reduce ambulance availability for all members of the public; and
\n\u2022 Increase costs to taxpayers.<\/p>\n

There is near-unanimous consensus about the negative impacts these impending closures will
\nhave, of which the Government of Ontario is aware and is willfully choosing to ignore. Ample
\nstudies, including internal government reports and independent evaluations, consistently
\ndemonstrate the public health and safety benefits of SCS. Ontario\u2019s supervised consumption
\nservices have recorded 1.12 million visits from 178,000 unique clients since March 2020, according
\nto a recent report, and have successfully reversed 22,000 overdoses and facilitated more than
\n530,000 service referrals to housing, case management, substance use treatment, and more.<\/p>\n

Additionally, data from Toronto demonstrate that neighbourhoods with supervised consumption
\nservices subsequently experienced 67 per cent reductions in overdose mortality, while other
\nneighbourhoods showed no significant decreases. These services are desperately needed.
\nSCS also reduce public drug use and discarded drug use equipment. Contrary to the Ontario
\ngovernment\u2019s claims that crime has increased in neighbourhoods with SCS relative to other
\nneighbourhoods, a recent study found decreases in rates of homicide, assault, and robbery in the
\nvicinity of an SCS after opening.<\/p>\n

If passed as drafted, Ontario would soon see the dire impact of government officials determining
\nhealth policy based on opinions, ideology, and political calculations instead of public interest.
\n\u201cOur loved ones will die. Our communities will suffer. The Government of Ontario knows this,
\nand is proceeding with reckless abandon,\u201d says Sandra Ka Hon Chu of HIV Legal Network. \u201cOur
\norganizations \u2014 and many others across the province, country, and globally \u2014 will continue to
\nadvocate for SCS to remain open.\u201d<\/p>\n

-30-<\/p>\n

Media Contacts:<\/p>\n

Beeta Senedjani, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
\nbeeta_senedjani@sfu.ca<\/p>\n

Sandra Ka Hon Chu, HIV Legal Network
\nschu@hivlegalnetwork.ca<\/p>\n

Michael Parkinson, Drug Strategy Network of Ontario
\nontariodrugstrategies@gmail.com<\/p>\n

For more information about SCS and the current state of the law in Canada, see this recent report<\/a>
\nfrom the HIV Legal Network.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This statement can be attributed to the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, the Drug Strategy Network of Ontario, and the HIV Legal Network. November 27, 2024 \u2014 Toronto, ON | We are watching with grave concern as the Government of Ontario attempts to force through radical legislation that will eliminate life-saving supervised consumption services (SCS) and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"publication_topics":[],"publication_language":[],"class_list":["post-24587","news22","type-news22","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22\/24587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news22"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22\/24587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24588,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22\/24587\/revisions\/24588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"publication_topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_topics?post=24587"},{"taxonomy":"publication_language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_language?post=24587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}