Breaking News – Province Banning Consumption Sites Near Schools and Daycares

The Ontario government is protecting the safety of children and communities by banning supervised drug consumption sites within 200 metres of schools and child care centres. The government is also mandating new protections to better protect community safety near remaining sites, including new requirements for safety and security plans, as well as new policies to discourage loitering and promote conflict de-escalation and community engagement. In order to restrict access to dangerous and illegal drugs moving forward, the government will also introduce legislation this fall that would, if passed, prohibit municipalities or any organization from standing up new consumption sites or participating in federal so-called “safer” supply initiatives. If passed, the legislation will also prohibit municipalities from requesting the decriminalization of illegal drugs from the federal government.

As part of a comprehensive system of care that prioritizes community safety and focuses on giving people their lives back through treatment and recovery, as well as upstream investments in prevention, the province is investing $378 million in 19 new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs. These new hubs are in addition to more than $3.8 billion the province is currently investing through its Roadmap to Wellness and nearly $700 million for supportive housing through the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program each year.

“Communities, parents and families across Ontario have made it clear that the presence of consumption sites near schools and daycares is leading to serious safety problems,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “We need to do more to protect public safety, especially for young school children, while helping people get the treatment they need, which is why we’re taking the next step to expand access to a broad range of treatment and recovery services, while keeping kids and communities safe.”

Crime in the vicinity of these sites is significantly higher compared to surrounding neighborhoods. In Toronto, reports of assault in 2023 are 113 per cent higher and robbery is 97 per cent higher in neighbourhoods near these sites compared to the rest of the city. Near the Hamilton site, reports of violent crime were 195 per cent higher compared to the rest of the city, and the crime rate near the Ottawa site was 250 per cent higher than the rest of the city. The government’s new direction is also informed by reports from police services in Ontario and across Canada that hydromorphone distributed at consumption sites is being diverted and trafficked, increasing the supply of dangerous and illegal drugs in communities where these sites operate.

In response to these concerns, Ontario is taking the next step to create a system of care that prioritizes community safety, treatment and recovery. HART Hubs, similar to existing hub models in Ontario that have successfully provided people with care, will reflect regional priorities by connecting people with complex needs to comprehensive treatment and preventative services that could include:

• Primary care
• Mental health services
• Addiction care and support
• Social services and employment support
• Shelter and transition beds
• Supportive housing
• Other supplies and services, including naloxone, onsite showers and food

HART Hubs will add up to 375 highly supportive housing units, in addition to addiction recovery and treatment beds, that will help thousands of people each year transition to more stable long-term housing. With a focus on treatment and recovery, HART Hubs will not offer “safer” supply, supervised drug consumption or needle exchange programs.

The ban on consumption sites within 200 metres of a school or child care centre will result in the closure of nine provincially-funded sites and one self-funded site, located in Ottawa, Guelph, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, Kitchener and Toronto, no later than March 31, 2025. These provincially-funded sites will be encouraged to submit proposals to transition to HART Hubs and will be prioritized by the province during the review process and could be eligible on average, for up to four times more funding under the HART Hubs model than they receive from the province as a consumption site.

The development of HART Hubs is one of the many investments the Ontario government makes to build a health care system that connects people with mental health and addictions care, including:

• Investments through the Roadmap to Wellness and Addictions Recovery Fund, including $124 million over the next three years as part of Budget 2024, are creating more than 500 addiction recovery beds and new models of treatment like mobile mental health clinics
• $152 million over three years for supportive housing to assist individuals facing unstable housing conditions and experiencing mental health and addictions challenges
• More than $19 million over three years to create 10 new Youth Wellness Hubs that the government is adding to the network of 22 hubs already opened since 2020, bringing the total number of Youth Wellness Hubs to 32 across the province
• More than $650 million in annual funding for the Homelessness Prevention Program and $41.5 million for the Indigenous Supportive House Program, which the government increased by $202 million annually in the 2023 provincial budget
• $20 million to support more than 100 Mobile Crisis Response Teams in communities across the province so that health care professionals can attend crisis situations in partnership with police

“We are investing more than any government in Ontario’s history to create a nation-leading system of mental health and addictions care,” said Michael Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “The new HART Hubs are a next step in the vision first outlined in the Roadmap to Wellness and expanded on in the Addictions Recovery Fund to provide the substantial regional resources that are needed to keep our communities safe and give people their lives back through treatment and recovery.”

Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care and building on the Roadmap to Wellness, the province is taking action to make it easier and faster for individuals to connect to mental health and addictions services in your communities.

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