On March 16, the Ontario government announced it would end funding for the remaining supervised consumption services (SCS) sites in Ontario as of June 13. The move affects sites in Toronto, Ottawa, London, Kingston, Peterborough and St. Catharines.

RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun told the London Free Press (March 24) that “closing safe consumption sites will not eliminate substance use because not everybody is ready for treatment. This is an ideological move that will cost lives and will cause more unsafe communities, not less.”

The article referenced a letter to the editor (London Free Press, March 21), in which Grinspun said the move was a “callous decision that leaves vulnerable people to fend for themselves.” 

Similar letters calling for the reversal of this decision were also published in the Peterborough Examiner and St. Catharines Standard. An Action Alert was also issued, urging members and non-member to make their voices heard on how this will lead to more preventable deaths.