{"id":24777,"date":"2025-03-31T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T16:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/?post_type=news22&p=24777"},"modified":"2025-03-31T12:00:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T16:00:27","slug":"media-release-despite-ontario-superior-court-injunction-recognizing-irreparable-harm-most-remaining-supervised-consumption-sites-still-facing-forced-closure-tomorrow","status":"publish","type":"news22","link":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/media-release-despite-ontario-superior-court-injunction-recognizing-irreparable-harm-most-remaining-supervised-consumption-sites-still-facing-forced-closure-tomorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDIA RELEASE: Despite Ontario Superior Court injunction recognizing irreparable harm, most remaining supervised consumption sites still facing forced closure tomorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Despite Ontario Superior Court injunction recognizing irreparable harm, most remaining supervised consumption sites still facing forced closure tomorrow<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Toronto, ON |<\/strong> March 31, 2025 \u2014 In a small victory for those advocating for evidence-informed services, one Toronto supervised consumption site facing forced closure April 1, 2025, will keep its doors open as that deadline passes tomorrow. But the reprieve\u2014granted via a temporary injunction<\/a> from the Ontario Superior Court \u2013 brings no relief for additional sites across Ontario who will still be required to close.<\/p>\n

The Court\u2019s decision, released Friday, suspends the application of location restrictions within Ontario\u2019s Community Care and Recovery Act<\/em> until 30 days after the case has been decided. The Court granted the injunction on the grounds that sites\u2019 closure and resulting increased risk of unsupervised drug use risks irreparable harm, threatening the health and lives of people who use drugs.<\/p>\n

Despite this recognition, the injunction does not cover the Act\u2019s requirement for municipally operated or supported sites to obtain provincial approval. Given this, at least one site in Peel Region must still close. Further, the injunction has no impact on Ontario\u2019s denial of funding to all sites. Without such funding, most sites will be unable to sustain their vital work, even if technically permitted to operate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn one sense, we are relieved. The Court has recognized the evidence that the Ontario government chooses to ignore: closing supervised consumption sites will drive deaths and harms,\u201d says DJ Larkin of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition. \u201cBut it is deeply upsetting that despite this recognition, thousands of people at risk of harm will still lose this lifeline. <\/strong>Our response to harm as a caring, inclusive community should always be to provide the support and choices people need to stay healthy and well. W<\/strong>e must chart a path that is rigorously grounded in public health principles, upholds Charter <\/em>rights, and protects against the perpetuation of stigma.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

This temporary injunction provides time for the Court to assess whether the Act violates Charter <\/em>rights and is outside of Ontario\u2019s constitutional jurisdiction, a decision that may take several months. Though the injunction allows all sites impacted by the Act\u2019s location restriction to continue operations, its limited scope, combined with the province\u2019s decision to withdraw or reject funding for existing sites, means it is too little, too late for many communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people believe everyone deserves access to healthcare and well-being, whether they use drugs or not,\u201d says Michael Parkinson of Waterloo Region Drug Action Team. \u201c<\/strong>Supervised consumption sites are one proven way to improve everyone’s health and safety. While the injunction is intended as a temporary reprieve, the deadly reality is its scope is limited and the province remains openly hostile. We are extremely distressed for the Kitchener applicant who sought relief in the Court and has not found it, despite the injunction, and the thousands of others across Ontario who depend on consumption sites. We urge the Ford government to respect the injunction and expedite the continuance of these services.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nearly all sites slated to close have accepted funding to transition to the new HART Hub model, which the province promised would be operational by April 1. Ontario explicitly forbids the provision of supervised consumption services through HART Hubs and has threatened to withdraw funding from organizations that offer these services. Some sites transitioning to HART Hub locations have confirmed<\/a> that they will be unable to open in time due to delays from the province.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is shameful: Ontario has put service providers in an impossible position,\u201d says <\/strong>Zo\u00eb Dodd<\/strong> of Toronto Overdose Prevention Society. \u201cWe are in a toxic drug crisis and the court agrees that people could die from these closures. Providing lifesaving overdose prevention services is essential. <\/strong>Preventing disease transmission is essential. <\/strong>Through this process the Ford government has ignored its own evidence. They are using funding as a weapon.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interveners in the case spoke to the increasing toxicity of the unregulated drug supply and described the harms to come to people should sites close. Others noted that Indigenous and Black communities, women, and people experiencing homelessness will bear disproportionate harm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been working together to keep people safe from preventable harms amid devastating loss,\u201d says Colin Johnson of the Toronto Harm Reduction Alliance. \u201cWhy anyone who cares about their fellow Ontarians could agree to the closing of these sites <\/strong>knowing the good they do <\/strong>is beyond me.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ontario passed the Act in December 2024, bypassing committee study and limiting debate. The Act\u2019s location restrictions were intended to come into force on April 1, 2025, which would have required at least ten sites within 200 metres of a school or childcare centre to close: five in Toronto and one each in Kitchener, Hamilton, Guelph, Thunder Bay, and Ottawa. In its application to the Ontario Superior Court, The Neighbourhood Group argued that people at severe risk of harm would lose access to a range of services and any closure would result in suffering.<\/p>\n

The Ontario Superior Court agreed, concluding it \u201cis foreseeable that many more will overdose, and some of those will die…that there will be an increase in the spread of bloodborne diseases. Death and disease that would have been prevented will now not be prevented, because those who would have used an SCS will now consume drugs in less safe settings. The other health and social services provided by SCSs and for which SCSs are a gateway will no longer be accessed at the same rate. Given the number of users that are affected by substance use disorder, homelessness, and other marginalized characteristics, the impact will be felt by the most vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis injunction, though limited and temporary, is a recognition that evidence matters in legislation, and the evidence tells us these sites keep our communities safer,\u201d says Sandra Ka Hon Chu of HIV Legal Network.\u00a0 \u201cAt a time when at least seven people <\/strong>die<\/strong><\/a> each day in Ontario due to the toxic unregulated drug supply, at a bare minimum we must ensure our laws are guided by the evidence available. Now, we need the province to respect the spirit of the injunction, fund these sites, and authorize municipalities who wish to do the same.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Media contacts: <\/strong><\/p>\n