Interim safe injection site unveiled
Toronto has unveiled an interim safe injection site that is scheduled to open this afternoon after receiving approval from Health Canada.
The city’s medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, says the temporary facility will operate between 4 and 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday until construction on three permanent sites are complete some time this fall.
De Villa says there is room for three people to use the interim facility at one time at Toronto Public Health’s downtown harm reduction site known as The Works.
Health Canada announced Sunday that it had approved Toronto Public Health’s application to open the interim site, and said supervised consumption areas save lives and improve health without increasing drug use or crime nearby.
Three permanent safe injection sites were set to open in the city this fall, but harm reduction experts say those plans were made years ago, before the
opioid crisis was as severe as it is now.
Last week, harm reduction workers set up an unsanctioned safe injection site in Toronto’s Moss Park, saying the space is needed as the city grapples with a string of overdoses and suspected
overdose deaths.
There are safe injection sites currently running in Vancouver, Surrey, Kelowna, Kamloops, and Montreal with clinics under review in many other Canadian cities, including Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton.