Guelph City Council urges the Ontario government to continue to permit the operation and funding of the Guelph consumption and treatment site beyond the proposed termination…

7:45Guelph Consumption and Treatment Services site. Then we will get to the support of Charter

7:51Rights and Freedoms and then after that a motion for the solve the crisis campaign. In regards to

7:58the impact, the closure of the Guelph Consumption and Treatment Services site, this was asked to

8:03be extracted from Councillor Allt. Councillor Allt, I think maybe I'll just turn it over to you if

8:09you don't mind just because I think it's important for you to set the stage before the delegates

8:13come up. Thank you very much Mayor Guthrie. Do you wish me to read out the four motions in front

8:19of us that are on the paper? No, don't. I'm so sorry I interrupted you but no, Councillor Allt. But

8:24maybe just, I'll let you table them as soon as the delegations are done. Absolutely. You can

8:29just be high level right now as to why it's here. Very well. Thank you very much. The reason that

8:34I brought this forward is that I believe it's very important for this Council to reaffirm

8:38its support for safe injection sites similar to the unanimous motion that was passed here a time ago.

8:46Quoting from Guelph's own overdose prevention site, the Guelph Overdose Prevention Site offers

8:52consumption and treatment services to ensure supports are available long term. This was launched

8:57in 2019 and from all reports has been tremendously successful. I think it's really important that

9:05we also acknowledge that most opioids here and elsewhere and other life threatening substances

9:11are taken within a home setting. The safe injection sites admittedly do not dampen consumption.

9:18Only more money for mental health, support, addiction services and treatment can do that.

9:23But regrettably within the province there's far more words than there is action or money being

9:29put toward this similar to what is being done in housing. What concerns me is that by removing

9:35safe injection sites we are giving health care workers an opportunity to go into a battle

9:40with only half the tools. The example that I use, a metaphor, is it's like putting a boxer into a

9:46boxing match with one hand tied behind the individual's match as much as I dislike boxing.

9:53Though I do not agree all the time with John Tory, I think his points about the need for a value

9:58for money audit and to actually embrace evidence-based decision making is really important.

10:05And I liken this to how we dealt with HIV and we dealt with COVID and even earlier on how we dealt

10:12with reproductive choice and the dangers associated with that not so long ago. I also point out that

10:19Toronto Board of Health has made a recommendation to Toronto that despite what the province is doing

10:24Toronto Board of Health should continue to support financially safe injection sites.

10:32So really what I'm stating is that we need to listen to the experts. We need to listen to

10:36frontline staff. We need to listen to the police. We need to recognize that this will have short

10:42and long-term financial and human resource implications if we do not reaffirm this and if

10:48we do not continue on safe injection sites. And this is clearly evident from such things that

10:54we could actually do which have not been done by the provincial government which is provide

10:59for money audits to determine how effective these are. I worry that Guelph could become

11:06an unsafe injection site if we remove a safe injection site. Right now there are people who

11:13choose to go to safe injection sites for many reasons. We have university students who wish to

11:18check the safety of their drugs. That's a fact. We have people on the street who use safe injection

11:26sites and dispose of sharps and other dangerous appliances safely. We have medical staff standing

11:36by. Our challenge is that we are going to raise our costs for paramedics, for police, for on-street

11:42social workers and increase workload stress significantly. It's imperative to me that we

11:50send a message that we need to put money into mental health, put money into housing, put it into

11:54the economy and security and well-being of people and that includes continuing to fund safe injection

12:00sites. The problem is not going to go away. It will go underground. We will have many individuals,

12:08good caring individuals who will set up what they consider to be safe injection sites and these

12:14will be not only dangerous, they will be illegal. This is something that needs to be left to medical

12:19practitioners so that we ensure that we are doing our damnedest to make certain that the fentanyl

12:28and the opioid crisis is dealt with effectively with all the tools at our disposal and all the

12:34tools that the provincial government should finance. Thank you for setting the stage of why

12:41you wanted this forward. We will go to delegations. We have a few, some in video, some in person so

12:48thank you for coming and just so everyone knows it's no more than five minutes and at the four

12:56minute and thirty second mark you'll hear a chime and that gives you the thirty second warning

13:01that your time is almost up. The microphone does get shut off at five minutes so just don't get there

13:07because we want to hear what you have to say in that allotted time. Brad, Evoi is here from

13:14Disability Justice Network of Ontario. Come on down Brad and Emilia, my story is going to join

13:23us after that on video. Yes, thanks Brad and yep the green light is on so you are ready to go.

13:33I'll turn it over to you and are you ready? All right thank you very much folks. My name as

13:40mentioned is Brad Evoi. I'm a member of the Hallaboo McMah nation and I'm the Executive Director

13:48with Disability Justice Network of Ontario. Some of you may remember me from when I was a Guelph

13:54resident a number of years ago and worked around the Ontario Public Interest Research Group so it's

14:00lovely to be back here in Guelph again today a place that I still consider very close to my heart

14:06and home. So I want to first start this by thanking Councillor Allt for bringing forward this motion.

14:13I think it's really important to continue the broad support of overdose prevention sites here in

14:20Guelph. The folks who run the Guelph OPS have been valiant in serving this community for so many years.

14:27I knew them when I lived here and their lives and the lives of the wider community are being

14:34upended to satisfy the anti-evidence and ideological positions of our conservative premier.

14:42Moving the violence and precarity of our systems then out of sight might temporarily

14:48appease some in business or in nimby crowds but it won't last. For those opposed to community

14:57supports in their neighborhoods it might be uncomfortable to see local police violence

15:03and violently arrest unhoused and folks and drug users to observe drug use in public due to closed

15:11or distant supervised consumption sites or you know all of the related pieces of violence

15:18that come from those realities. But this discomfort pales in comparison to the actual dangers faced

15:27by living through these conditions and for folks who are at higher risks for both structural

15:33and interpersonal violence. I'll remind folks that no one has ever died from an overdose

15:40at a supervised consumption site. That people in Ontario instead are dying alone from the toxic

15:48drug crisis and toxic drug supply in their homes all over this province. Further claims that these

15:57sorts of things will benefit children don't address the reality that children have loved

16:02ones who use substances and thus are putting their lives in health at greater risk as well.

16:09Aside from the fact that the unregulated drug supply also directly affects teens and young adults.

16:17The alternative then to these systems that's often being suggested by some a minority I would say

16:25is that a forced treatment. Harkening back to the days of the regional centers and asylum system

16:32where so many disabled folks have suffered throughout this province. And if you think that

16:39this is hyperbole or based in a distant past in another province, Manitoba, the last of these

16:46institutions closed literally yesterday. And this is to say nothing of sheltered workshops and

16:55questionable group homes that are targeting and exploiting disabled communities that are still alive

17:01and well here in Ontario. Ultimately friends the closure of the Guelph OPS is an open form

17:10of social murder. We know what's going to happen here. We know our friends and neighbors will die

17:21without these services. Instead we need expanded broad support for overdose prevention

17:29and social action. We need raising social assistance rates. We need building real accessible

17:37affordable housing. We need rent control. These are the things that will instead improve the lives

17:44of everyone including drug users and their families. The actions of this province again

17:51are open social murder. And I hope that Guelph continues in its long tradition of progressivism

18:00to take a firm stand against all fronts of Doug Ford's war on the poor and marginalized in this

18:07province. Thank you Brad for coming and thank you for your presentation. Is there any follow-up

18:13questions? There isn't so thank you again for coming and starting us off today. Amelia

18:20Meister is going to join us by video and then after that Sarah Bailes is Sarah here? No okay.

18:33Amelia we see you can you just check your mic for us. Yep can you hear me okay?

18:37Yep you're coming through perfect. I'll turn it over to you go ahead. Thank you council.

18:43I want to tell you a story about a friend of mine who died on November 8th because of tainted

18:49supply. This was a death that could have been prevented if he had had adequate access to a

18:54CTS site at the time of using. My friend's name is Miles. He was 20 years old when he died.

19:01He was an incredibly caring person, a brilliant visual artist and he often talked about his

19:06dreams to make art for a living or to become a social worker so he could help people who were

19:11in the same position he once was. He was so silly and he could always make me laugh. He would send

19:17me silly selfies and nonsense memes and videos and joke around all the time. I always found this

19:22incredible because his life had been so hard. People don't just fall into addiction because

19:27they want to. They do so because life feels so hard that the only escape, excuse me, feels through

19:34that brief moment of getting high and he was no exception. On the street at 14 living in shelters,

19:41vulnerable without a consistent loving adult to guide him to ensure he had food, shelter or education.

19:48It's no wonder when someone offered him meth he accepted. Despite that he wanted to get sober. In

19:54the 18 months that I knew him he had gotten sober countless times. Sometimes for a week, sometimes

19:59for over a month but without proper housing, mental health and community support needed it was

20:04nearly impossible to stick to it. I tell you all of this because I want you to understand

20:10that people who use drugs are people with loved ones, friends and community who care deeply about

20:17them. They are people with hopes and dreams. Many of them want to get sober but a lack the

20:22ability to do so because there aren't social systems in place to properly support them and even

20:28if they didn't want to get sober they should still have access to safe supply. It may feel easy to

20:36think of folks using drugs as numbers or some far removed idea from your life but they are all humans

20:42and I urge you to see their humanity today. I also want to remind you that we already have tons

20:49of safe consumption sites downtown. One right next to the CTS site that is being shut down.

20:56Alcohol is a drug and bars are safe consumption sites. They are staffed by people who are legally

21:03mandated to be trained in identifying the signs of alcohol poisoning and refusing service to anyone

21:09who exhibits it and yet we allow and even celebrate the existence of these safe consumption sites

21:16despite alcohol abuse being a major cause of health issues and death in this country and community.

21:22A 24-hour accessible CTS site would have saved my friend Miles' life. I often think of what his

21:30life could have been had he been able to access this life-saving service. I don't want any L1Ls to

21:38die because of lack of access to safe supply. I want to see those who use drugs in our community

21:45to be treated with respect and care and their lives valued. I urge you to vote for this motion

21:52to protect people like my friend Miles as I see any vote against it as a vote for death

21:59of our community members. Thank you. Thank you, Amelia, for your presentation. Is there any follow-up?

22:07There isn't so thank you again for joining us today. Now is Sarah Bayless here? No? Okay and

22:15what about Paige Hutchinson? Okay come on down Paige. Yep, I'll allow it. This is Paige but Paige

22:33is going to read Sarah's message and then we'll count to two and then Paige will do their own

22:42presentation okay? So I'll just... Pardon? This is Mars. I'm so sorry. I'm a different person.

22:49No, it's okay. There's no pushback so you're here on behalf of Sarah Bayless. So go ahead and we'll

22:54listen and go... We might not have any questions just because it's not Sarah but we'll let you do

23:01your talk. Okay go ahead. So thank you. My name is Mars Russell and I'm reading on behalf of Sarah.

23:08Dear Mayor Guthrie and Council, I'd like to start by expressing my sincere gratitude to

23:12Councillor Phil Alt for this motion. I'm consistently impressed by his ability to speak to truth to

23:17power, to engage with us in earnest, and to show what is to be an advocate in his community.

23:23For maybe the first time in my life I feel completely speechless. I don't know what to

23:27say to make those with power withhold another blow to our community. Closing the CTS sites is

23:31an act of social order, labeling its ineffective replacement a heart hub is rubbing our noses in

23:36it. Every individual on this council knows that the war on drugs is ineffective and a waste of

23:41our money and time. If it was effective we wouldn't be having the same conversation that we had during

23:45the Reagan administration. To quote Dr. Carl Hart, it is impossible to talk about drugs without

23:50addressing the elephant in the room or more aptly the albatross around the necks of the vulnerable,

23:55the war on drugs. As we as with previous drug crises the opioid problem is not really about

24:00opioids. It's mainly about cultural, social, and environmental factors such as racism, draconian

24:07drug laws, defunded police, apologies, defunded public health and social services, resistance to

24:12evidence-based practices, and a grossly bloated police budget. I, Sarah, have met with multiple

24:18of you, shown you the data, given you academic and personal stories, and begged for municipal aid.

24:23I know this is a provincial decision and that you're sending a letter that you're hoping to get a

24:27few scraps for the heart hub that you think you're doing the most you can, but you must do more.

24:33We are still in chambers discussing the threat looming over our community as if it is a far away

24:37notion. Those of us who have known the pain of an overdose begged to higher power when resuscitating

24:42a community member or had a loved one killed by the drug poisoning crisis knows that we are

24:46staring down the barrel of a gun. In essence, the war on drugs is not a war on drugs. It is a war

24:51on all of us. Instead of following the science of fiction and evidence-based practices of harm

24:55reduction, we seem dedicated to burying our young, our pained, and our vulnerable. The politicians who

25:00wax poetic about heart hubs fail to speak to the graves that we will dig, the families who will

25:04lose, and the lives that will be stolen. On November 18th, 2024, I attended a memorial vigil

25:09for not one, not two, but six people who died in a two-week period. I didn't see any counselor,

25:14except for Councillor Kate in there. I didn't see any of you helping folks pack their few belongings

25:18in the biting cold day of the St. George's Square eviction either. Similar to the law passing,

25:23council seems to be fine with dishing out destructive policies as long as they don't

25:26have to see the aftershock. Given our collective history, I ask you all to rise above. Not only

25:31do I beg for you to sign these letters and resist the violence from the Ford administration, I beg

25:36you to go further. Be creative in your resistance. Fund grassroots organizing, fund a harm reduction

25:41coalition of local folks to distribute gear, take naloxone courses and carry some on your

25:46person at all times. Offer your time and institutional power to folks who are already doing these things

25:51on a smaller budget. There is so much more to be done here and you are more than just a letter

25:55asking Ford to put the gun down. Be creative and be courageous. You never let a serious crisis go

26:00to waste, Ramamanyu once remarked, and what I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you

26:05think could not be done before. Thank you. Thank you, Sarah. Yeah, appreciate it. So I'm so sorry

26:14when I didn't have my glasses on. I should, I thought that you were Paige, but you are not

26:18Paige. Okay, is Paige here then? No. Okay, so Melissa, you are our next. Melissa Karkowski

26:29is from the Guelph Community Health Center. Now, Mars, you are here. So you will be after Melissa,

26:36okay? Thank you. Hi, Melissa. Welcome. Go ahead. Good morning, Mayor Guthrie, counselors,

26:44and staff. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Melissa Kouaykeski. I'm the CEO

26:50at Guelph Community Health Center and I'm here to advocate for the motions under 4.1, urging the

26:56province to continue funding and permitting the Guelph Consumption and Treatment Service site.

27:01Today, I'll share why this facility is indispensable to our community's health,

27:06safety, and financial stability. The Auditor General's report makes it clear

27:12closing CTS sites will have dire consequences. The ministry's own analysis predicts more drug

27:19poisoning deaths, increased emergency room visits, a rise in public drug use, and more discarded drug

27:27supplies in our streets. This is not speculation. It is what happens when proven solutions are removed.

27:36Since opening in 2018, the Guelph CTS has hosted over 41,000 visits offering supervised

27:44compassionate care. We've made nearly 1,000 referrals to addiction treatment and primary care,

27:51reversed 311 overdoses with only 12 requiring hospital transfer. Most notably, there have been

27:59zero fatalities. These are lives saved, families kept whole, and resources preserved for other

28:07critical needs. In addition, the work that CTS staff do to prevent drug poisonings from happening in

28:13the first place also diverts from emergency services. Health teaching and education by staff

28:19and our drug checking program give clients the information they need to stay safe.

28:24For example, almost 20% of people made a different decision about their substance use after receiving

28:30testing data from the drug checking program. They either lowered their dose or did not use the substance.

28:39CTS facilities don't just save lives, they save money as well. Calgary's SafeWorks program saved

28:452.3 million in health care costs by reducing ambulance trips and emergency room visits.

28:51If CTS services are discontinued, these costs will shift back to hospitals, paramedics, and

28:57taxpayers, all while worsening outcomes for people who use substances and the broader community.

29:04Supervised consumption sites are essential to community well-being. A U.S. study found that

29:0976% of individuals using CTS services would otherwise consume substances in public.

29:16By offering a safe and supervised alternative, these facilities reduce public drug use and

29:21syringe litter making our streets safer for everyone. While the province's Hearthub's proposal is a

29:28step in addressing addiction, it is not a direct replacement for CTS. I need to make that point

29:35again. It is not a direct replacement for CTS. The AG's report highlights that the hubs lack the

29:43scale, planning, and comprehensive services required to meet the needs of vulnerable populations.

29:49Without harm reduction services like those at CTS, the continuum of care is incomplete,

29:55leaving gaps that put lives at risk. By supporting these motions, Council can deliver a powerful

30:03message to the province. In a public health crisis, we must prioritize evidence-based solutions that

30:10save lives, reduce costs, and strengthen community safety. This is about more than health policy.

30:18It's about who we are as a community. The data is clear, the evidence is compelling, and the stakes

30:25couldn't be higher. Let us stand together to protect what works and to ensure that no more

30:31lives are needlessly lost in Guelph. Thank you for your time and consideration.

30:38Thank you, Melissa. I have a question from Councillor Cawson.

30:42Yes, thank you for your presentation. I had a question with regard to some of the partners in

30:51the community, social services, and local boards like the hospital, the police, the library.

30:57I was wondering if you have had a chance to connect with some of these partners and talk

31:01about what potentially some of the consequences could be if and when the CTS site closes next year.

31:10Thank you for your question through you, Mayor. This is happening on a few different fronts.

31:16Some of this work is happening at the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy table. Some of this work

31:22is happening at the OHT. I was just on a call yesterday with EMS, Public Health, the hospital,

31:31et cetera. We are working on a work plan for trying to mitigate the harms that will happen.

31:39This includes trying to get supplies and things out to people. We're also hosting a training

31:45today, Welcoming Streets. Part of what we will be doing over the coming weeks and months is really

31:52ensuring that the community is equipped because businesses and community members will now have

31:56the responsibility for managing overdoses in public spaces. We'll continue to offer training

32:04for community and resources as well. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And then last is O'Rourke.

32:15Go ahead. Thank you, Mayor Guthrie, through you to Ms. Koukowski. Speaking to the second clause

32:23of the motion to expand the heart hubs, I'm wondering if you can describe the expectation

32:29around those heart hubs. They've been described as housing and wraparound services. And first of

32:37all, is there any possibility that the heart hubs will be open in time to align with the closure of

32:42the CTS? And second, will the heart hubs really provide housing and wraparound services?

32:51Thank you for your question through you, Mayor. So the first question about the timelines is not

32:58really within our control. We submitted our application for a heart hub for this community,

33:03the Guelph-Wallington Heart Hub. So it served both Guelph and Wellington counties.

33:09We submitted that the third week of October. We have yet to hear back about the status of

33:14our application. So the timelines for when we can implement really depend on when we have

33:20approval to move forward and then when we have a funding letter that says, you know, we're receiving

33:26the funding. So right now we're waiting. We hope we'll hear in a timely way that we can have services

33:34up and running or at least some of the services up and running on April 1st. And Councillor O'Rourke,

33:42can you remind me your second question? Yeah, the second question is, I think people have an

33:47expectation that the heart hub is housing and wraparound services, which sounds like a much

33:52better model. But I'm wondering, like, is that a fair expectation? What the heart hubs will offer

34:01and what ours will offer here is access to wraparound support teams to support people with housing

34:08and their health needs. It will also offer some bedded services, specifically crisis

34:14stabilization beds and detox beds in this community, as well as increasing supportive housing capacity.

34:22What it is taking away from community is a really important part of the comprehensive

34:29continuum of care for addiction services, which is all of the harm reduction. So no needle exchange,

34:36no supervised consumption, and no safer supply. And I just want to really highlight the importance

34:43of a full robust continuum. If you think about any chronic condition, like take heart disease,

34:48for example, you wouldn't say, well, we're removing cardiac bypass surgery, but we're going to increase

34:54the number of medications that are available to treat heart disease. You just wouldn't do that.

34:58You need a full continuum of prevention, harm reduction, and then also really

35:04high level interventions like surgery, for example. So those are life saving interventions. We need the

35:09same full continuum. So what we're saying is we definitely need the heart hub resources. We need

35:14more housing. We need more detox beds, crisis stabilization, and we need consumption and

35:20treatment services. Because for many people, that service is the only doorway into the more

35:26formal health care system and addiction treatment services. And we're essentially closing that door

35:32into the system. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Richard Richardson, sorry, has a question as well.

35:41Thank you, through you, Mayor, to the delegate. My understanding is part of the reason or the

35:46main reason for closing the Guelph site was proximity to school or daycare. So would there

35:52be an opportunity to move the site or relocate it to a more suitable location? Thank you,

36:00thank you, through you, Mayor. I think we have to be clear. This was never about proximity to

36:06childcare facilities. If it were, we would have been given the option to move our site,

36:11which we have clearly not been given. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you very

36:20much. Yeah. Mars, you are coming back down. And then Andrea Baker will join us by video.

36:37And you can begin whenever you're ready. Mayor Guthrie and council, I'm here today to voice

36:45my support for all motions brought forward at this meeting from both Councillor Caton and

36:49Councillor Allt, specifically the first agenda item 4.1. The impending closure of consumption and

36:54treatment sites across the province weighs heavy on my heart and the hearts of those aware of the

36:58dangers of bill 223. Yes, this bill was passed by our provincial government, but I'm standing here

37:03before my council asking that you condemn this decision and do more to care for our community.

37:08Removing CTS sites will lead to more drug poisonings and overdose deaths, increased drug use and

37:12dependency are direct results of rising rates of poverty, lack of mental health supports,

37:17gaps in accessible housing options, toxic supply and many other issues within the province.

37:21If this bill was truly about the location of CTS sites, the part of said bill prohibiting future

37:26sites from being built anywhere would cease to exist. Assuming many of us within this room have

37:31entered bars and consumed alcohol, we have utilized safe consumption sites. Liquor laws exist to limit

37:36alcohol poisonings. They are clear examples of harm reduction. Regulations surrounding the quality

37:40of alcohol sold to the public are in place to ensure safe supply. Both work in tandem to keep

37:45members of the public safe. As shown in numerous studies, the closures of CTS sites will lead to

37:50more preventable deaths. There have been zero reported overdose related deaths at CTS sites in

37:54the country, according to Health Canada. This finding alone shows their effectiveness in providing

38:00safety for some of the most vulnerable members of our community and in turn safety for all of us.

38:05Alongside an increase in fatalities, instances of non-fatal overdoses will rise.

38:09The province's proposed heart hub recovery model ignores the root of many drug poisoning,

38:13which is an increasingly toxic drug supply. Heart failure to provide safe supply, drug testing

38:18options or needle exchange programs will have impacts that will ripple throughout our healthcare

38:22system, which we know is already struggling following numerous budget cuts, staffing shortages

38:26and an active pandemic. Scrapping needle programs will aid in the transmission of

38:30blood-borne infections such as HIV or hepatitis, both of which CTS sites have been proven to

38:36reduce the spread of yet another role the sites play in public safety. Drug overdoses can cause

38:40a slew of complications following instances of bradypneia, a lower breathing rate which can lead

38:45to hypoxia, lowered oxygen levels in the blood base tissue. Lengthen periods of hypoxia will

38:50harm vital organs with the heart and brain being exceptionally vulnerable to damage or acute failure.

38:55Further complications following an overdose can include neurological damage which can

38:58impact memory, coordination, mobility and lead to abnormalities that can negatively impact one's

39:03quality of life on a day-to-day basis. When these poisonings happen outdoors specifically during

39:07the winter months where overdoses have been shown to increase, victims run a higher risk of hypothermia

39:12and other health issues following prolonged cold exposure. Survivors of overdoses face an increased

39:17risk of developing depression, anxiety disorders and PTSD. The same can also be said for those in

39:22the position of witnessing an overdose, especially members of the public who are untrained and

39:26unprepared to assist in responding to one. Work that was once in the hand of trained nurses all

39:31equipped with naloxone to reverse overdoses that may occur at CTS sites will fall on community

39:36members who will be far more likely to find folks using substances in public spaces and using a

39:40loan. Solo or unsupervised substance use is a leading risk factor in drug poisonings becoming

39:45fatal. We will see an increase in 911 calls for overdose responses, more ambulances, therefore

39:50longer wait time for emergency services and when it comes to responding to an overdose or any emergency

39:55second counts. Hospital beds risk filling with those who relied on CTS sites to survive

40:00and access to safe supply which is an often overlooked step of recovery for many who are

40:04unable for a plethora of reasons to simply stop using. I recall the early days of lockdown in 2020

40:10and I remember the liquor stores remaining open and I asked why. I learned that our hospitals

40:14could not handle the results of those who were dependent on alcohol losing access to it. Our

40:18hospitals were and remain unprepared for a surge in patients. Why would we support a bill that will

40:23inevitably lead to more strain on an already unstable healthcare system? We simply do not

40:27have the resources, the beds, the budget or the staff to handle the crisis that will follow these

40:31closures. Yes recovery models sound great of course we want those who are struggling to receive

40:35treatment but you cannot put a dead person into rehab. No recovery program will bring back anyone

40:41lost to drug poisoning from unsafe supply. As it is so often said each overdose death represents

40:46a policy failure. CTS sites and their impact exist as proof that there are tangible ways to prevent

40:51overdose deaths and to care for our community. The promises of increased housing alongside

40:55heart hubs is a wonderful promise but the facts we are being presented with are too powerful to

40:59ignore. Bill 223 will have a body count. Increased funding and housing options need to be explored

41:05alongside CTS sites remaining open and properly funded to continue saving lives and assisting in

41:09community safety. Thank you for your time and I welcome any questions. Thank you Mars. Let me just

41:15see if there's any follow-up for you. There is not so again thank you for coming down.

41:21Andrea Baker is going to join us by video. No okay. Is Jill Francis here? No okay and what

41:31about Jean Hopkins? I know I see Jean yes. Thanks Jean and whenever you're ready go right ahead.

41:46Thank you. Good morning my name is Jean Hopkins. I'm the manager of the Wellington Wealth Drug

41:50Strategy. Thank you for having me here today to speak about the impacts of the CTS closures.

41:57And what our response is. The Wellington Wealth Drug Strategy is a coalition of partner agencies

42:02and members of the lived experience community who are working to implement a four pillar drug

42:06strategy in the in Gwelfin Wellington County. The four pillars are prevention, harm reduction,

42:11treatment and recovery and community safety. The reason that we have these four pillars is

42:17really to recognize that substance use and addiction is complex and no single tool is enough.

42:22Each of these pillars is necessary to support our community through the drug poisoning crisis we

42:26continue to experience. I'm delegating in support of this motion. While many other delegates have

42:32spoken to the devastating impacts of the CTS closures that will happen to public health and

42:37safety, I also want to speak to the economic impacts of the closures as well and some of the

42:41recent activities that we've been involved in provincially over the past week. So as we've

42:47heard today, CTS sites offer specialized medical supports and treatment with dignity and care,

42:52even amidst the grief and loss being experienced by those most impacted. Drug poisonings claim the

42:57life of someone in Ontario every two and a half hours. In Gwelfin Wellington, we lost 62 people

43:04last year and so far data shows that we've lost 41 members of our community this year

43:09and we anticipate these confirmed cases will grow as more data becomes available.

43:14We know that drug poisonings are driven by the unregulated drug supply that is increasingly toxic

43:19and increasingly unpredictable and we know that the closures will not improve the supply and won't

43:24prevent people from using substances. The substance use landscape both provincially and locally

43:30is changing rapidly and I just want to provide a bit of an overview about some of the key events

43:35that took place last week. So last Monday, December 2nd, as expected legislation was pushed through

43:40that effectively banned CTS sites within 200 metres of schools or daycares. Bill 223 forces sites to

43:47close and makes it nearly impossible to open new sites. The following day on Tuesday, December 3rd,

43:54the Auditor General released their annual report including information about the opioid crisis.

43:59The report confirmed that CTS sites work. Sites prevented over 1500 overdoses in the past year

44:05that could have occurred in the community. They reduced the risk of hep C and HIV transmission,

44:10which increased overall costs to the health care system and they're cost effective. They reduced

44:15the overall burden on emergency services by providing specialized care on site. The report

44:21also notes that the internal their internal government documents stating that the ministry

44:25recognized that there would be impacts on our health system including financial and operational

44:29burden on emergency departments and states quote the decision was made without proper planning,

44:34risk analysis or public consultations. In response to this on the following day, Wednesday, December

44:404th, the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy and Ingrid Oles, who's a staff member with the Guelph CTS

44:45site, attended a press conference at Queens Park along with the Drug Strategy Network of Ontario

44:50and Guelph MPP Mike Shreiner. We called on the Auditor General to take on a value for money

44:56audit to further assess the financial implications of these closures on communities across Ontario,

45:01including our own. A fulsome audit will add it to the evidence base and will ensure that we have a

45:07comprehensive picture of the impacts. So now what? Now we must prepare for an increased strain on our

45:17health care system with reduced ambulance availability and more people competing for

45:21life-saving care in the emergency room. Wound care needs which are currently provided at the CTS

45:27will get more severe. We can expect to find more discarded equipment in our public spaces.

45:33We know that there is irrefutable evidence that CTS sites save lives and connect people to the

45:38dignified care they need and deserve. We know this and we now need to anticipate the health and safety

45:45and financial impacts and consider what we can be doing collectively to mitigate those risks.

45:52How can we as a community, as council, prepare to respond in ways that are rooted in compassion

45:58and evidence? And I'd like to close with a quote from Ingrid Oles who spoke at the press conference

46:04last week. Ingrid states, the CTS is a place where people can come to feel safe and accepted

46:10and that is a huge step on the path to creating trusting relationships. For a lot of people,

46:15it's the first step to feeling safe enough to seek health care. CTS workers are grieving every

46:20day but we work hard to provide the most accessible supports possible. Thank you.

46:27Thank you. Any follow-up for this delegate? Seeing none, thank you, Jean. Thank you very much.

46:33Councillor Allt, I'd like to ask you to table your motions, please.

46:40Thank you very much, Mayor Guthrie. In tabling these motions at this point, I have nothing further

46:45to express. I will have including remarks. There are four motions in front of us. They are on the

46:51order sheet for the day. Would you like me to read them? Yes. The seconder, Councillor Goller.

47:00And reading the motions. Number one, that Guelph City Council urges the Ontario Government to

47:05continue to permit the operation and funding of the Guelph Consumption and Treatment Site

47:10beyond the proposed termination date in March 2025. Number two, that Guelph City Council encourages

47:18the Ontario Government to maintain, if not expand, funding for the proposed homeless and addiction

47:24recovery treatment heart hubs. Number three, that Guelph City Council encourages the Ontario Government

47:33to not take steps to prohibit the establishment of supervised consumption sites, including urgent

47:40public health needs sites, otherwise known as UPHNS. Number four, that this resolution be forwarded

47:47to the Premier of Ontario, to the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Health, the Association

47:53of Municipalities of Ontario, and to municipalities that currently have an operating consumption

47:58and treatment service and or supervised consumption sites. Moved, all seconded, Gowler.

48:04Great. Thank you. Now, and just so you know, I would just want to state that much of these three

48:12motions that are these three different items that are in front of us today, our staff have made it

48:17pretty clear this is a council decision. These are support motions. They're not wanting to really

48:22wade into this. This is more political, right? So this is an opportunity for questions of staff,

48:28if need be, but really these are these are council statements. We agree or disagree,

48:34and we should probably treat them as such. So this is an opportunity for questions to staff,

48:38if you if need be. Okay, Councillor Klosson. Thank you for you, Mr. Mayor. I just have a question.

48:46I did ask it during budget, and it's related to a question I asked to the delegate as well. So

48:53we've we've budgeted in the contingency reserve about $500,000, I think, for paramedics.

49:02We don't know what the unintended consequences of the closure of the safe injection site will be.

49:08I know that we have that set aside. You know, that said, have we been having discussions with

49:14our local boards and partners like the hospital to monitor and and keep track of what will happen

49:21after the closure of the CTS site? Through the Mayor, yes, Chief Dewer participates in those

49:27meetings that I think Ms. Kowalski referred to involving the drug strategy and the hospital

49:32and public health, and they are having conversations about how to monitor it. As you indicated,

49:37there was money set aside in the reserve because we don't know whether there will be an impact

49:41on paramedic services. Our commitment to the Joint Social Services and Land Ambulance Committee

49:46was that we would monitor and track the data. As a paramedic service, we will always respond

49:51to whatever the needs of the community are, but until we get further along, we won't know what

49:56the actual impact is. And so that's why the decision was made to put that money aside. It's not in the

50:02base paramedic services budget, it's simply set aside in a reserve in case it's needed. Thank you.

50:11Thank you. Councillor O'Rourke, I believe you have an amendment.

50:20I do, Mayor Guthrie. I just sent the amendment to clerks and its amendment to clause one.

50:27And so it's just to add to the end of clause one, at least until the Hart Hub is fully operational.

50:34I think the data is clear that there'll be definitely a gap, notwithstanding the information

50:41that we've heard about truly the good work that's happening at the CTS site right now.

50:48But there's likely to be a gap between the opening of the Hart Hub and the closure of the CTS.

50:53And so I am proposing we add the words at least until the Hart Hub is fully operational to the

50:58end of clause one. Okay, thank you. And is that seconded by somebody? Councillor Richardson?

51:05Okay. I'll look to call the vote. Okay, Councillor Allt, before I call the vote, go ahead.

51:12Well, as well intended as this might be, I have to speak against this because I have heard from

51:18experts today that we must have a comprehensive support system in place that includes safe

51:24injection sites and Hart Hubs to remove safe injection sites at the advent of Hart Hubs actually

51:34continues the same problem only in another guise. Consequently, I can't support this.

51:40I believe we need to support the continuance of safe injection sites, recognizing that Hart Hubs

51:47are another tool in the box to address this social malaise. Okay, thank you. And then back to the

51:55... sorry, Boussatil, Kate, and then I'll go back to the mover. Thank you. And thank you to

52:01Councillor O'Rourke for raising this. In listening to the delegations, I will not be supporting the

52:06amendment. I think it's very clear that there's a continuum here and the Hart Hub does not support

52:13the continuum, the prevention, the harm reduction process there. So I agree with Councillor Allt.

52:19I will not be supporting the amendment. Thank you, Councillor Caton, please.

52:27Thank you. Through you, Mayor. So similarly to Councillors Busuttil and Ault, I will not be

52:34supporting the amendment. I know it's well intentioned, but it will not meet the needs

52:39of the community. And I think that without the services that are not going to be offered at

52:44the Hart Hubs, that we will see more community deaths. Thank you. And to the mover, and then

52:53I'll call the vote. Thank you, Mayor Guthrie. Just to say the motion says at least until the opening

52:58of the Hart Hub and doesn't preclude it being open past that date. I'm just trying. We know that in

53:04the immediate there could be a gap and I am just trying to create a bridge so that at least there

53:11is less of a gap. And clause 3 asks the province to maintain those supervised consumption sites. So

53:22I'm more comfortable with clause 1 with that amendment and it is really about trying to

53:27not have a gap. Okay. And now I'm over to Councillor Downer.

53:34And I just say this respectfully, but the gap is endless because there is no,

53:42the Hart Hub does not replicate the safe consumption site. So it's a bridge to nowhere

53:50because it doesn't include that as part of what we heard is to continue. So the Hart Hub we heard

53:57does not replicate or replace the consumption site. So I won't support it, but I understand the intent.

54:06Okay. Thank you. I'll call the vote. But before I do that, just if the clerks could put it back

54:12up on the screen for me. Don't quite remember the wording. Okay. I'll call the vote. All those

54:35against please raise your hand. So that would be Keaton and Alt and Bousatil and Glosson and

54:45Downer and Guller and Caron. So that fails. Okay. So we're back to the main motions. I would like to

54:58personally just ask them to be split if you don't mind. We'll just do one at a time if that's okay.

55:03Perfect. So I'll call the vote on. Yeah, I've got final remarks. Okay, go ahead. Yeah. Thank you very

55:10much, Mayor Guthrie, because this is an issue of policy and an issue of principles. I do want to

55:16provide some closing remarks. Nobody wants to be an addict and I don't want drugs on the street.

55:23Nobody ever put on their resume that their career goal was to be homeless,

55:27to be on the streets and to be addicted to anything. But in every family and in every friendship,

55:33I am sure that we have seen people suffering from either mental illness or addiction.

55:39My father was an alcoholic and I can tell you that that was not pleasant. He was also addicted

55:44to cigarettes, which is one of the most addictive nicotine being one of the most addictive substances

55:48on earth. This was not fun to live in. I do not want to see this replicated. I do not want to see

55:56stop the campaign to end the misuse of fentanyl and other opioids, but I want safety.

56:05Many people use safe injection sites as the first step toward assistance. Many people have, for the

56:13first time ever, the medical care that they need that is a result of addictions and the use of

56:20street drugs. Safe injection sites I do not believe will disappear, but I do fear that they will go

56:27underground. They could be run by churches, earnest citizens, or as in BC, outside hospitals by doctors

56:34and other healthcare workers. They won't be as effective and I do believe they will be characterized

56:40as criminal behavior, which is something that I do not wish to see. What we end up doing by abolishing

56:47safe injection sites is lead to an underground, much like we had many, many years ago when, as I said

56:54earlier, we were addressing issues of reproductive choice. Cost effectiveness is another problem.

57:00Policing paramedics on street social workers currently have rapport with these sites. They will

57:06see workload increased and I worry about burnout. Workload stress already is extreme. We know that

57:11we should continue to support the experts and support safe injection sites and what we have

57:18here in Guelph. Thank you very much to all the delegates who spoke. Okay, thank you. Okay, so

57:24we'll just move through the motions one by one. If you don't mind, clerk's just putting it up

57:33there. Okay, so I'll look to call the vote on the first one. I'll do that now. Is anyone against?

57:40Please raise your hand. All right, so that's Richardson and Guthrie. So that passes.

57:49And then this, if you could put it back up on the screen for me. The second one, the expansion and

57:59funding for the proposed heart hubs. Okay, so I'll look to call the vote on that. If anyone is against,

58:06raise your hand on that one. Okay, so that's unanimous. And then the third one is encouraging

58:16the Ontario government to not take steps to prohibit consumption sites. So I'll call the vote

58:22on that. If anyone is against that, please raise your hand. Okay, that's Richardson and Guthrie

58:33and Billings and O'Rourke. And then on the fourth one is to send this resolution to the Premier,

58:42the Minister of Finance, Minister of Health, AMO municipalities currently that have consumption

58:46treatment sites. So I'll call the vote on that. Is anyone against that? Okay, and that one's

58:53unanimous. All right, thank you very much. And we'll move on. Next, Councillor Caton, just similar

59:01to what I did with Councillor Allt, if you want to sort of set the stage just a little bit about

59:06what will be introduced and then I'll have the delegations come up and then you can table the

59:09motions after that. Okay, so I'll turn it over to you. So we've heard a lot about

59:18the notwithstanding clause and the notwithstanding clause has been called out

59:25as an option by the Premier of the province and a call was made to the Ontario Big City mayors

59:33to come forward and say whether or not you as a mayor would like to have this used in terms of

59:41encampments and for many other requests that were outside of the vote of the Ontario Big City