'People's lives are at risk': Windsor MPP calls on province to fund Safepoint

A fatal shooting in Toronto outside a consumption and treatment services (CTS) site has slammed the brakes on funding decisions for yet-to-be provincially approved sites, including Windsor’s Safepoint.

The announcement was made Friday to allow for a thorough investigation by the province into a fatal shooting outside a Toronto site. A 44-year-old mother of two was killed by a stray bullet in Toronto’s Leslieville neighborhood.

“The review’s happening. And it has put a pause on the consideration of not just our application in Windsor, but many other cities as well,” said Windsor-Tecumseh PC MPP Andrew Dowie.

But a campaign is mounting locally to provide some certainty for local decision-makers.

Health unit board chair Fabio Costante says while the event was unfortunate there have been no incidents at Windsor’s site.

“We've got to look at it jurisdiction by jurisdiction and we have evidence now to show that we've done this properly,” said Costante, also a city councillor in Windsor’s Ward 2.

Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) leadership indicated Friday it has floated the cost of Safepoint since April within its budget, but decision day is looming on the site’s future.

“We just need to know the timelines from the ministry (of health) so that we can make that decision because otherwise all options are going to be on the table on Nov. 20,” said Costante.

Windsor West New Democrat MPP Lisa Gretzky calls the delay by the province unacceptable.

I have written Minister Jones about the urgent need to fund the SafePoint Consumption Site in Windsor. Lives are depending on the funding needed to continue to operate this facility. #onpoli pic.twitter.com/OiQiAfS4gX

— Lisa Gretzky (@LGretzky) October 11, 2023

“People's lives are at risk while the government is doing this,” said Gretzky, who said decision-makers and the public can see that for themselves through the human cost of the opioid epidemic in Windsor-Essex.

According to WECHU, 100 people died from drug overdose in Windsor-Essex in 2022.

Already in 2023, that number has already surpassed 120.

“People will die and people whose lives we can save and get connected to those supports and services that can be changed for the better,” she said.

Both the health unit and Gretzky have written Provincial Health Minister Sylvia Jones, insisting the funding be approved despite the province’s critical incident review.

Gretzky agrees with the need for a review, but says funding can’t wait.

“The government was looking for a reason, an ideological reason to not spend the money where it needed to be spent,” she said.

Windsor-Tecumseh PC MPP Andrew Dowie couldn’t put a timeline on when the review will be completed.

The health unit hoping for certainty as it enters budget discussions, asking for a response from the province by Oct. 13.

“The continuity of care in my view is the biggest thing at stake right now,” Costante said.