The City of Toronto Council recently approved the establishment of three Supervised Injection Services (SIS) sites in Toronto, with the primary goal of decreasing the rising numbers of fatal drug overdoses and reducing the risk of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. The three sites will be located within Toronto Public Health, (The Works), Queen West-Central Toronto Community Health Centre and the South Riverdale Community Health Centre. The announcement was welcomed by a wide spectrum of stakeholders from hospitals, mental health and addictions service providers, academics, clergy, advocates, businesses and the general public. Harm reduction service that will be provided by the three SIS sites is considered to be one component of an broader overall addictions strategy that includes elements of treatment, prevention and law enforcement working together. A recent report by the Toronto Board of Health notes that there is high demand for harm reduction services in Toronto, with over 100,000 client visits and almost 1.9 million needles distributed in 2015.
In a statement to CBC News, Ontario’s health minister acknowledged a number of “critical steps” are still required before the sites can be implemented. The sites will also need to apply for federal drug-law exemptions, in order to offer the services with trained medical staff.