Toronto’s top doctor is calling for the opening of three safe-injection sites at existing health facilities downtown, a move which would follow Vancouver and join the list of cities around the globe giving addicts a safe place to do drugs.
“Research shows that supervised injection services save lives, reduce drug overdoses and limit the spread of blood-borne diseases,” Medical Officer of Health Dr. David McKeown said Monday.
He noted the city is facing a record number of fatal overdoses – 206 in 2013 – that have jumped in the last decade.
McKeown is recommending councillors on the city board of health give the green light to setting up community consultations and strategizing on how the “small scale” sites would work, with the results going into a report due in July.
The safe-injection sites would be located inside existing facilities along a roughly 7-kilometre stretch of downtown: the Central Toronto Community Health Centre at Queen and Bathurst streets, the public health office at Victoria and Dundas and the South Riverdale Community Centre.