Kitchener seeks drug sites in other cities, too

Waterloo, Cambridge cited in ‘fair and equitable approach’ to safe injection locations

KITCHENER — Kitchener isn’t opposed to a safe injection site in the city, but it says it wants “a fair and equitable approach with some form of supervised injection service” in Waterloo and Cambridge as well.

The city raised the concern as part of a response to the Region of Waterloo, which is seeking input on the feasibility of creating safe injection sites locally.

An earlier study concluded that there was strong need for the service in the region, as well as broad support for it, though some concern about potential impacts on the surrounding community.

The study also concluded that the best locations for a safe injection site were downtown Kitchener and the Galt area of Cambridge, while also recommending a third temporary or mobile site that could move into other areas as needed.

Kitchener says in its response that it wants to make sure sites open in Cambridge and Waterloo, as well as Kitchener, as “all three are experiencing the impacts of the opioid crisis.”

That position is different than the one taken by Cambridge council on Tuesday, when councillors voted 8-1 to keep any supervised drug site out of the Galt, Preston and Hespeler cores.

Rejecting safe injection sites out of hand isn’t realistic, given the rising number of opioid deaths in the region, the Kitchener report says.

Last year, 71 people in the region died of opioid overdoses, up from 38 in 2016.

That’s more than deaths from traffic fatalities and homicides combined. About 10 people are killed on regional roads every year, and the region sees an average of five homicides a year.

“If we had those kinds of numbers playing out in terms of car accident deaths in our community, there’d be a huge outcry,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.

He said he understands many people are reluctant to see an injection site in their city, but he said the region, and all levels of government, need to respond to the opioid crisis.

“You can’t bury your head in the sand and pretend it’s going to go away, because it doesn’t.”

He said it will be vital to act sensitively and carefully in choosing possible loca-

tions for the sites, and avoid concentrating social services in one area.

“There’s neighbourhoods throughout our central core who have certainly had their challenges over the years. We want to make sure we’re not putting additional burdens on these neighbourhoods.”

Kitchener is also stressing the need for the region to work closely with the city and with local neighbourhoods.

“Community engagement and outreach is extremely important,” Vrbanovic said. “It’s really important that we bring the community along with us on this.”

“It’s only natural that there is a lot of fear and concern in the community about this issue,” said Jana Miller, who wrote Kitchener’s response.

“It makes for a difficult and sensitive conversation for the community but just because it’s difficult and sensitive doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about it.”

Kitchener also says:

• The region should run any sites as part of an integrated program with a range of other social services, including mental health and medical services, and addiction treatment and counselling.

• Any Kitchener site should be a two-year pilot project in a fixed location. After two years, the site should undergo a “comprehensive” review that includes consultation with the public, community agencies and the city to see if location should be moved or improved upon in some way.

• The site should be chosen and designed in consultation with city staff and there should be ongoing public consultation.

• It’s “critical” that the region, rather than a community agency, take the lead in running a safe injection site because the region has the expertise and “access to substantial resources to support such a service.”

• Criteria for site selection should consider access to transit and other social services, but also the character of a neighbourhood, and any site should have adequate security.

The Kitchener report is “generally supportive of us going ahead with this,” said regional chair Ken Seiling, adding he had no problem with Kitchener’s desire to have a say on site location and design.

“I think our preference has always been to work with lowertier municipalities,” he said. “We know it impacts them, but we ultimately are the health authority for the region.”

City councillors will consider the city’s response on April 9. Regional council votes April 10 whether to proceed to the next phase.