Toronto city councillors vote in favour of safe injection sites

By CBC News

Toronto city council has approved the creation of three safe injection sites in the downtown core.

Council voted 36-3 in favour of the motion at its meeting Thursday.

The Toronto Board of Health unanimously supported the creation of the sites in early July, and families of drug users have backed them, as well. Councillors were warned drug overdoses are going up in the city, and that something needs to be done about the public health issue.

The sites, which are aimed at providing a safe environment for drug users, are expected to be installed at three locations in the downtown core.

City to ask province for funding

Safe injection is already legal in Canada, as long as the federal government grants approval under Bill C-2. Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott told CBC News in March that supervised injection sites are among a number of strategies the government has put forward to cope with drug abuse and overdose deaths.

The Toronto Board of Health recommended three sites, which the city plans to ask the province to fund, including the Toronto Public Health office near Dundas and Victoria streets, the South Riverdale Community Health Clinic and the Queen West-Central Toronto Community Health Centre.

Both Toronto Mayor John Tory and Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders backed the creation of the sites, despite concerns from critics that they may encourage drug use.

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Thumbnail: Flickr CC Todd Huffman