Lack of funding and staff means no overdose prevention site for North Bay
For the time being, there will be no overdose prevention site coming to North Bay.
The District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board (DNSSAB) received grant funding to look at options for a facility.
“There’s been a lot of passionate pleas at our board meetings how that support could save lives and I think they’re valid,” said board chair Mark King.
A study was commission by DNSSAB and conducted by the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit. It concludes there is not enough funding and staff available to open such a facility and there is no lead agency to oversee operations.
Since many overdose prevention sites are implemented with a goal of applying to being a consumption and treatment facility, it wouldn’t fall under the health unit’s scope.
“The health unit‘s primary mandate is related to health promotion and prevention and less of a downstream of direct services which an overdose prevention site would be,” said Louise Gagné, the health unit’s executive director of community services.
An overdose prevention site can cost more than $800,000 to run each year. The spaces are for users to inject drugs while under trained staff supervision. Staff are on site to help if someone has an adverse reaction or overdose.
“Many overdose prevention sites are complimented by access to counselling, needle exchange, naloxone and other sorts of services,” said Gagné.
Health unit statistics show there were 19 opioid-related deaths in 2019 in the health unit’s area. That number more than doubled in both 2020 at 50 and 47 deaths in 2021.
This brings the rate of opioid related deaths to 65 per 100,000 people making the region the second highest of all medium-sized municipalities.
Whether a facility like this will ever come to the area, King said the city will just have to wait and see.
“My thought process now as the chair of DNSSAB now is that it’s a dead issue,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.