A report recommends three safe-injection sites in Toronto, but the province doesn’t agree
Researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto took four years to produce a hefty report on safe injection sites, which recommends three such facilities in Toronto. Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews took only minutes to reject the idea, illustrating that the facilities can be a tough political sell. For instance, though Gord Perks threw his support behind the report (he called it “good solid Canadian evidence” that safe injection sites could save lives and health care dollars), Doug Holyday worries the sites would attract unsavoury types who wouldn’t otherwise come to Toronto. Meanwhile, Public Health board chairman John Filion, wouldn’t answer a question about whether he’d let a site open in his ward. As the debate continues, we expect this question of where the sites would go to be at the centre of the discussion. Read the entire story [Toronto Sun] »
What a shame that politics always seems to override common sense and empathy towards the truly unfortunate.
There is research and there is “research”. And my sense is those doing the research seem to be less than unbiased. I’m not necessarily against the idea if it is attached to an institutional facility such as a hospital. But as a stand-alone site, I think it makes little sense and sort of defeats the overall purpose of helping to steer vulnerable people towards a better path in life.