Safe sites for drug use won’t need province OK

The federal government has dropped the requirement for provincial approval to open supervised drug consumption sites, a move that many see as a way around recent changes in Ontario that capped the number of life-saving facilities set up to address the opioid crisis.

“We want to make sure that there are no barriers to establishing these services in communities where they are needed,” said Thierry Bélair, press secretary to federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor.

“We have approved over 25 supervised consumption sites and provided emergency treatment funding to provinces hardest hit by the crisis. We will continue to take action in collaboration with our partners to save lives.”

The changes mean municipalities, local health authorities and non-profit groups no longer need a “letter of support” from a provincial health minister to open a supervised drug consumption site.

Health Canada will also consider new funding models for future sites, including money from private sources, Bélair said.

Hakique Virani, a public health specialist at the University of Alberta, welcomed the changes. Even though he wants Ottawa to decriminalize drugs, Virani said the changes will let those who want to open new sites circumvent “ideological” barriers to new sites in Ontario.