STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF SAFE CONSUMPTIONS SITES

From the undersigned organizations and members of the Ontario legal community

On November 18, 2024, the Ford government tabled Bill 223, Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act, a bill that enacts and amends several acts, including enacting the Community Care and Recovery Act (“the Act”). This bill has now been rushed through provincial Parliament without public consultation.

The Act prohibits the establishment and operation of supervised consumption sites (“SCSs”) less than 200 meters from schools, child care centers, and a variety of other premises. The Act also restricts the renewal of current SCSs and the establishment of any new SCSs anywhere in Ontario by requiring provincial pre-approval to municipalities and local boards applying for funding and the federal exemptions required to operate. However, Health Minister Sylvia Jones has stated that the provincial government will not approve applications moving forward.

In effect, this means that the Act is shutting down ten SCSs across the province, including five in Toronto by March 31, 2025, and prevents the opening of new sites.

As conscientious members of the Ontario legal community, bound to uphold the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and support the rights of the most marginalized residents in the province, we urge the Ontario government to abandon the Community Care and Recovery Act. This legislation will deprive thousands of too often overlooked Ontarians of their most basic constitutional rights under the Charter, including rights to life, liberty and security of the person, freedom from cruel and unusual treatment, and freedom from discrimination.