TORONTO - Ontario NDP health critic France Gélinas has slammed the Ontario Ministry of Health for what she said is unfairly downloading health costs onto municipalities and local hospitals.
Gélinas was speaking in the Legislature on Nov.20 when she asked why the Ministry of Health was effectively overloading local emergency rooms by shutting down and refusing to allow any new safe drug consumption sites to operate in Ontario.
Gélinas, who is also the MPP for Nickel Belt, put the question to Health Minister Sylvia Jones.
“Minister, a person dies every 2.5 hours from the toxic drug supply in Ontario. Consumption and treatment sites (CTS) have been instrumental in preventing thousand more deaths. Without CTS you can expect more calls to first responders, which means limited availability for other emergencies. You can expect busier Emergency Departments where people already wait way too long," said Gélinas.
"Why is the Minister putting more strain on our first responders and Emergency Departments?” Gélinas asked.
Health minister Jones responded that consumption sites are not appropriate places near schools or daycares.
"Respectfully, why is the member opposite not standing up for the families who have to stop taking their children to a playground because it’s too close to a consumption site? Why does the member not understand that having these consumption sites within 200 metres of a child care centre, a daycare, an EarlyON centre, a school is not appropriate?" said Jones
"We need to offer people pathways out of addiction; we do not need to enable it," Jones added.
Gélinas responded that the province is downloading responsibilities onto local municipalities
"The minister is closing consumption and treatment sites and leaving a long gap before any other services, before the 10 hubs become available. Why is the minister downloading her responsibilities to our municipal partners?" said Gélinas.
Jones replied that Gélinas was making a false characterization and that the eventual opening of treatment hubs would offer people hope.
"We are moving away from a system that enables people to continue to use illicit, illegal drugs, and we are changing to a system that takes people to a pathway to treatment," said Jones.
