The controlled consumption ends in Timmins, the only one in northeastern Ontario, due to a lack of funding

Northeastern Ontario’s only supervised drug consumption site will stop offering the service at the end of June due to a lack of funding.

In April, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) of Cochrane-Timiskaming offered temporary funding to the Safe Health Site so it could remain open until June 30.

The organization says it has not received additional funding from the provincial government.

The site will still remain open and offer other types of overdose prevention services such as clean equipment distribution, counseling and withdrawal management.

“We know that 90 percent of customers visit the site for medical services. I am still optimistic that referrals will happen and people will have access to primary care,” said Timmins Mayor Michelle Boileau.

A loss for the community

Several representatives say ending the supervised consumption service will have negative consequences for the region.

Boileau highlighted the data, “which shows that we are saving lives with this service.”

“The idea that people will continue to consume, but will no longer have the ability to do so in a place with medical supervision, is concerning,” she said.

Seamus Murphy, deputy chief of paramedic services for the Cochrane district, said there has never been a fatal overdose at the supervised consumption site and about 40 residents have been able to access long-term care for addiction management.

LOOK | CBC’s Nick Purdon goes to the frontlines at the Safe Health Site in Timmins:

A safer place to shoot – and the struggle to close it down

Like many communities in Canada, the northern Ontario city of Timmins is divided over its supervised injection site. CBC’s Nick Purdon goes to the front lines of the fight to close it and hears from the people who rely on it and the neighbors who want it closed.

Officials expect a particular increase in calls for overdose interventions by emergency services, which dropped by 20 percent after the supervised consumption site opened its doors.

“We will most likely see an increase in deaths in our community. We also expect to see an increase in the use of emergency services,” said Paul Jalbert, CMHA general manager for Cochrane-Timiskaming.

Jalbert said the increased demand for emergency services will impact frontline professionals in the region.

“It’s hard to witness people suffering so much without feeling the impact,” he said.

Ontario’s 2024 budget made no mention of supervised consumption sites in northern Ontario.

Radio-Canada asked the Health Minister’s office if they planned to cover the cost of the supervised consumption service or propose another solution. The office responded with a statement clarifying that the Sudbury and Timmins locations were never approved or funded by the province.