Sudbury city councillors pick downtown Energy Court for temporary injection site
By an 11-2 vote Tuesday evening, city council in Greater Sudbury approved the downtown Energy Court location to set up a temporary safe injection site.
The site is one of two city-owned properties downtown that cleared all hurdles to act as a temporary site, as the search continues for a permanent location. The other site, the Elgin Street parking lot, would have reduced parking downtown.
Ward 4 Coun. Geoff McCausland said it came down to which site would have less of an impact on the surrounding area.
“The Energy Court location is a space that has been used for decades by the more vulnerable members of our community," McCausland said.
"In fact, there was shelters there this entire past winter …Unless you happened to be in a building that has a bunch of stories downtown and you can see them, you would have never known they were there. And so in many ways, it much less impactful.”
Ward 5 Coun. Robert Kirwan was opposed, arguing the court is on the outskirts of the downtown.
“It’s where can we put this site so it’s going to serve the people who actually need it and be there for the people who need it," Kirwan said.
"I would prefer to have the ambulances close by, the police close by, the fire close by and access to food and shelter.”
Although they disagree on location, both agree it has been a long time coming.
“We should have had this two years ago, but now we’re close to getting it,” said Kirwan.
“I wish we had this conversation, I wish we had this motion and this report a year agom, but at least it’s all moving," McCausland said. "It’s all moving forward and we’re trying to move forward as quickly as possible because days are lives.”
A report brought to council Tuesday said while senior governments need to approve the creation of an urgent care facility, they do not fund them.
“The city would have to fund this -- I don’t think there is any other choice," Kirwan said.
It will cost about $800,000 to set up trailers and other services on the court, he said, and roughly $1 million in annual operating costs.
Kirwan said city staff will prepare an outline of the projected operational costs and if council approves that, then the application will be sent in to the federal government.
He estimates it takes about six to eight weeks to get a response.
“So we really can’t start doing anything until we get the approval from the government to operate the temporary site," Kirwan said. "So we are a good two…two and a half months away at the earliest from having this up and running.”
In the meantime McCausland said staff have been directed to reach out to local businesses to secure trailers or a modular building that can be used once approval is in place.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.