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
Asking rent prices up 9.3% across Canada, Ontario sees only decline: report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
Prince William says wife Kate is 'doing well'
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Ontario coroner to investigate death of man who suffered cardiac arrest while waiting in ER
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
'Irate male' assaulted Newfoundland officers with block of cheese, police say
Police in Newfoundland say patrol officers were assaulted Thursday by a "very irate male" wielding a block of cheese.
Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Canadian Blood Services apologizes to LGBTQ2S+ community for discriminatory blood donation policy
Canada's longstanding blood donation policy that prevented sexually active men who have sex with men and some trans people from donating blood and plasma was harmful and discriminatory, Canadian Blood Services acknowledged on Friday, in issuing an apology to the LGBTQ2S+ community.