In another strike against Greater Sudbury’s only sanctioned supervised consumption site, it doesn’t appear as though any of the city’s elected officials plan on advocating for continued funding.
With municipal funding slated to expire by the end of the year, and the province putting all funding applications on hold while they develop new safety protocols, it appears likely to close.
All 16 staff members at the supervised consumption site, called The Spot, have been given notice they might be laid off by the end of the year.
Sudbury.com reached out to all 13 members of city council to see whether any of them plan on championing continued municipal funding to keep the facility open.
The inquiry was sent to all 13 members by email last week, which was followed by an email reminder.
Five members ended up responding, including Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre, Ward 4 Coun. Pauline Fortin, Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh, Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent and Mayor Paul Lefebvre.
None committed to championing continued funding during 2024/25 budget deliberations slated to take place later this year.
On April 26, 2022, Rèseau presented to city staff the budget sent to the province. The total annualized operating budget (minus one-time expenses for the temporary site) is approximately $1,374,000.
“Temporary funding for the supervised consumption site was provided by council to assist in meeting an urgent community demand on a short-term basis, while awaiting anticipated provincial funding,” Lefebvre said.
Clarifying that he has not yet made his final decision, Parent said, “I struggle to support The Spot as it currently operates (very limited hours) and with the fact that the city opened the facility with a commitment by the province to fund the operations of the facility.”
With limited funding, the site operates six hours per day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“I see the high cost and limited operating hours of this program and I am not convinced this is the best option to maximize our goal of saving lives,” Fortin said. “If we are going to continue to spend money in this area then it must be on programs that are the most effective in saving lives.”
Lapierre said it will be a “difficult conversation” to keep up municipal funding knowing there is nothing coming from the province for at least the next couple of years, but that they’d also reached out to the federal government to see if any money might be available from them.
Sudbury.com also asked the city’s elected officials about the future of the 40-unit transitional housing complex for the chronically homeless going up on Lorraine Street, whose support staff are being funded by the municipality despite it being a provincial jurisdiction.
It appears as though this funding is on a firmer foundation.
“The transitional housing project is not a temporary facility, and council committed to the operational clinical costs for this facility because while we were and still are willing to work with the province, we were not willing to wait for them to act,” McIntosh said.
“I remain hopeful that our provincial government will respond to this massive health care issue and provide operational dollars for both facilities.”
Parent echoed this sentiment, noting that the transitional housing complex wouldn’t make any sense without support staff.
“I can’t support anything less,” he said. “It is incumbent on the city to secure provincial funding to cover these services and not place this burden on the tax levy.”
The supervised consumption site in Sudbury holds only an “exemption” from Health Canada, which only allows them to operate on a temporary basis. The application to the province would be for permanent status in addition to funding.
Réseau ACCESS Network operates the supervised consumption site, and recently launched a public advocacy campaign at savethespot.ca to help keep it open.
Their petition targets provincial officials, including Mental Health and Addictions associate minister Michael Tibollo, Health Minister Sylvia Jones. Sudbury NDP MPP Jamie West, who is already on board with advocating on the supervised consumption site’s behalf, has also been targeted as a petition recipient.
Their website includes letters of support, including those from Public Health Sudbury and Districts, Greater Sudbury Police Services and the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health,
In his letter, Greater Sudbury Police Service Chief Paul Pedersen describes the supervised consumption site as “essential for Sudbury, reducing overdose deaths, reducing the transmission of infectious diseases, reducing risk, and connecting individuals with essential social and health-care services.”
So far this year, they’ve counted almost 1,000 visits and have been credited with reversing all 15 overdoses that happened on site.
“Drug checking services for substances like fentanyl were used dozens of times in 2023 alone, preventing the risk of overdose,” he wrote.
In her letter, Public Health Sudbury and Districts medical officer of health and CEO Dr. Penny Sutcliffe noted that 112 Sudbury and Manitoulin districts residents died from opioid-related drug poisoning in 2022 alone, which is a rate of 54.1 deaths per 100,000 population. This, she said, far exceeds the province’s overall average of 16.8.
“We believe that investing in an array of harm reduction services, including supervised consumption services, is a cost-effective strategy that saves lives, reduces health-care expenditures, and strengthens our communities,” she wrote.
“Furthermore, offering harm reduction services and education serve as an important piece of the multipronged approach to addressing substance use stigma and improving the health and wellbeing of people who use drugs.
- With files from Jenny Lamothe
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.