A letter by RNAO CEO Doris Grinspun was published in the Ottawa Citizen (April 5). In response to the province’s announcement to defund Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) drug consumption site, RNAO is calling on the provincial government to restore funding for OPH as well as two other sites in Toronto.   

Given the reality that a poisoned drug supply is killing thousands of Canadians, Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) drug consumption site is helping to keep people alive. The OPH site is a necessary resource that allows the City of Ottawa to provide its residents with a safe, hygienic space to use intravenous drugs and be supported in accessing addiction treatment and other services.

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario calls on the provincial government to heed the evidence, consult front-line staff and organizations responding to overdoses every day, and fund these life-saving health services. The lives of our loved ones, colleagues, clients and neighbours hang in the balance.