Sault CAO urges city to move on supervised consumption site

Sault Ste. Marie's CAO is recommending the city move forward in seeking federal approvals for a supervised consumption site.

Malcolm White said the application process for a federal exemption, a required step in setting up a site, is lengthy and it would be a good idea for city council to begin the process sooner rather than later.

"It involves a lot of detailed work, data needing to be provided, community engagement, and those sorts of things, and can take a lengthy amount of time," White said.

He has been keeping an eye on the situation at sites in Sudbury and Timmins, which are facing hardship due to a lack of provincial funding.

"It is a cause for concern," said White.

"They opened their sites with the understanding that provincial funding would be forthcoming within a year or two. And that hasn't come to pass."

Councillor Angela Caputo said the application process for safe consumption sites needs to be simplified.

"Opioid use and overdose and addiction is a huge problem here in the north, and all across Ontario and all across Canada," Caputo said.

"We need to start streamlining these application processes to get these folks the help that they need."

Caputo said the north is being neglected.

"I think there is a large inequity in what we're seeing in northern Ontario versus what we're seeing in southern Ontario," she said.

"Southern Ontario has had supervised consumption sites for probably over 10 years that have been funded by the province."

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Another challenge the city is facing is finding an organization to lead the application process and, ultimately, operate the site.

However, White said organizations such as Algoma Public Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association are willing to take a role in the process.