Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford attend an announcement at Seneca College on Friday, February 9, 2024 in King City, Ontario. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
The federal government has rejected Toronto's request to decriminalize personal possession of controlled substances and substances.
In a statement released late Friday, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Yaara Sachs said Toronto Public Health's request does not adequately protect public health or maintain public safety.
One of her concerns is the lack of support from the state government, which is vehemently opposed to the idea.
The proposal calls for decriminalization to be combined with a number of more direct public health responses to the overdose crisis.
The City submitted a proposal to Health Canada in January 2022 and updated its submission in March 2023 after further consultation.
The announcement comes after Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote a letter to the premier asking for a review of Health Canada-approved facilities across the country.
The request comes after the provincial health minister and attorney general sent a letter to Toronto Public Health's top doctor telling him to withdraw the city's application to decriminalize possession of illegal drugs for personal use.
Dr. Irene de Villa defended the application, but the chair of the city's health committee refused to withdraw it. They said they were trying to save lives and pointed to safe supply as one way to help.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Toronto's decriminalization bid needs support from the province. Ford said he would also seek state buy-in for safe supply hubs.
“I am now asking you to extend the provincial support requirements to 'safe supply' sites that have been solely and unilaterally approved by Health Canada,” the premier wrote.
“Health Canada's siled approval process leaves provinces in the dark about where federally approved facilities operate and the quantities of controlled and illegal substances they supply. This is frankly unacceptable.”
Health Canada lists 16 approved safe supply projects in Ontario, all but one in Thunder Bay, Ont., are in southern Ontario.
“Safer supply services can help prevent overdoses, save lives, and connect drug users with other health and social services,” Health Canada says on its website.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow wrote her own letter asking the premier and premier to work with the city to pilot what she calls a 24/7 treatment program and crisis centre.
“We welcome the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's focus on the tragic deaths of more than 500 people in Toronto each year,” Chau said in an unrelated announcement Friday morning. “A 24/7 crisis center will reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments, treat each person in an individualized manner, expand access to evidence-based treatment for substance abuse, and improve recovery and recovery. Ensuring those who want treatment get it. Recent research shows that one-third of homeless people in our shelters currently want a drug treatment program. . They want to turn their lives around, but they can't access it because they don't have the space.”
Prime Minister Trudeau said Friday that his government is taking a public health and safety approach to the opioid crisis “rather than unnecessarily criminalizing and further marginalizing people.”
“But no government order can do this alone,” he says. “That's why we're focused on working with those on the front lines, whether it's the state's health system or the city, to keep people safe.”
He did not say whether the federal government would suspend safe supply approvals or review current sites.
Medical experts and advocates say pharmaceutical-grade opioids in the form of hydromorphone tablets are a safer alternative to over-the-counter drugs.
Over the past decade, opioids have spread across the country, killing thousands of people each year. Before that, prescription drugs such as oxycodone and Percocet were widely used.
The situation changed about a decade ago when synthetic fentanyl, produced primarily in secret Chinese laboratories, began appearing on the West Coast. The opioid crisis slowly spread eastward. Ontario police have noted an increase in domestic fentanyl laboratories in recent years.
Ontario's chief coroner says most opioid overdose deaths have been found to contain fentanyl, a dangerous cocktail with benzodiazepines and, more recently, tranquilizers used by veterinarians on animals. Often included in dangerous cocktails with xylazine.
In his letter, Ford pointed to British Columbia's experience with decriminalization as a reason to oppose safe supply.
The B.C. government recently received federal approval to recriminalize public drug possession, a major setback in Canada's first trial of decriminalization.
“Previous investigations by state health officials also found that diversion of controlled substances obtained at these facilities was common, including trafficking in more lethal and harmful drugs like fentanyl. “This has been shown to be the case,” Ford wrote.
“We also show that diversion is contributing to higher rates of opioid use among youth, and that those receiving treatment services are relapsing because of the ease of access to treatment services.”
The province's position on safe supply locations is at odds with Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, who has called for expanded safe supply as one way to address the opioid crisis.
The Ford administration opposes Moore's position.
