Ontario’s Harmful Backslide: A Threat to Lives and Canada’s Legacy in Harm Reduction

The Global Commission on Drug Policy is deeply concerned about the legislation tabled in Ontario, "Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act", which threatens to dismantle nearly half of the province's supervised consumption sites (SCS) by March 2025.

This decision marks a dangerous regression, potentially reversing years of progress in evidence-based public health policies that have saved lives and supported communities. Supervised consumption sites mitigate public drug use, reduce discarded paraphernalia, and enhance community safety. Closing them could lead to increased visible drug use and safety concerns for local residents. Internal government documents have raised alarms, warning that these closures may result in higher overdose rates, greater health impacts, and more emergency visits. Pushing individuals back onto the streets and mandating compulsory treatment is not the solution - a lesson that has been reinforced by over fifty years of the "war on drugs".Canada has been a global leader in harm reduction, pioneering North America's first SCS in Vancouver in 2003 and introducing heroin-assisted treatment programs in 2005. These initiatives, grounded in scientific evidence and public health, have proven invaluable in saving lives and reducing the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. However, Ontario's actions risk undoing this progress.

Supervised consumption sites have been shown to reduce overdose deaths by 35% in areas where they operate. In Vancouver, such sites led to a 26% reduction in fatal overdoses in surrounding neighborhoods. The global evidence is clear: there has never been a fatal overdose recorded inside a supervised consumption site. OnPoint NYC, a medically supervised overdose prevention center in East Harlem, New York, has intervened in over 1,500 overdoses. Its commitment to "whole person care," which includes mental health services and community support, has earned praise from local organizations, including the Association to Benefit Children's Echo Park Children's Center. Its Executive Director, Gretchen Buchenholz, believes "The centre has done more good than harm".

As Ontario moves to close similar sites, it risks undoing effective, evidence-based policies. Harm reduction benefits entire communities by improving health and fostering trust between marginalized populations and health services. It also addresses community safety by reducing the visible impact of drug use. What is urgently needed is more community support - not less - including adequate housing and healthcare for people who use drugs.

We strongly urge all levels of government in Canada - federal, provincial, and local - to collaborate in safeguarding harm reduction policies. Effective responses to drug related harms require provinces to embrace evidence-based, human rights-centered approaches, while acknowledging the essential role of local authorities in addressing the unique needs of their communities. Measures that criminalize drug use or reduce access to harm reduction services risk exacerbating the opioid crisis, increasing exposure to toxicity in supply chains, and contradict the recommendations of the United Nations.

Reducing the harms caused by drug consumption can be achieved without compromising the quality of life in neighborhoods or the safety of the public. What we need now is more support for these programs, not less. Ontario's actions runs counter to Canada's legacy of effective and humane drug policy. Now is the time to strengthen, not backtrack on, this legacy. Canada's commitment to harm reduction must be upheld, not abandoned.