Sudbury takes major step to curb overdose deaths
A supervised consumption site in Sudbury is one step closer to becoming a reality.
Council has unanimously approved $1.1 million in operational funding to for a temporary site to help deal with the city's opioid crisis.
The plan is to set-up three trailers insude Energy Court on city owned land as a temporary supervised consumption site.
"Whether it's our responsibility or the province's these people who have a drug problem actually need our help,” said Ward 5 councillor Robert Kirwan.
“And I am hoping that they will access some of the services through this supervised injection site that will help get to the root of the social determinants of health that drove them there in the first place."
City council was willing to commit the money as it considers the issue to be a big priority.
"Since the beginning of the pandemic we have seen approximately 160 deaths in our community to the opioid crisis. We don't want to see another death in this city from an overdose. So we as council decided to move quick on this," said said Ward 11 councillor Bill Leduc.
The Reseau Access Network, a non-profit, community-based charitable organization, committed to promoting wellness, harm and risk reduction and education, will be the lead service provider with a multidisciplinary team staffing the site.
"We certainly hear from folks ‘are we facilitating people having access to drugs?’ And the answer is no. All we are doing is providing a place where people can use their own drugs in a safe way where they are supervised by people who can support them in their work and assure that people aren't overdosing," said Richard Rainville, the executive director of the Reseau Access Network.
Rainville added that people who work in harm reduction are now calling supervised consumption sites, death prevention sites.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.