WECHU 'encouraged' by wave of developments over SafePoint consumption and treatment site
WECHU 'encouraged' by wave of developments over SafePoint consumption and treatment site
After days of controversy over the location of the SafePoint consumption and treatment site in Windsor, a compromise was reached at the 11th hour before debate even took place Monday night.
Councillors Fabio Costante and Renaldo Agostino hashed out a deal to allow the supervised consumption site to open on Wyandotte Street, but also giving the downtown councillor the green light to search for a new site, pending approval from the health board.
“What's in our control is endorsing a site,” said Coun. Costante, who also serves as the chair of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) board of directors. “And so if we can mitigate against any delay, then that is a win for the community.”
Councillors hashed out the deal over the weekend to dismiss Agostino’s attempt to yank council’s support for the 101 Wyandotte St. E. location.
Instead, the location will be temporary and the downtown rep will seek to strike a site selection committee to choose a new location.
“It doesn't damage anything and more importantly, what it doesn't do is it's not going to cost any single person their lives,” said Agostino after Monday’s council meeting.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit board now needs to meet to define and decide upon a new motion for council to consider in two weeks.
“We are encouraged by the decision of Councilor Agostino to reconsider last night’s motion, which ensures that renovations and our applications can move forward without delay,” reads a statement issued Tuesday by WECHU. “The details of the compromise referenced at the meeting will be brought forward to the Board of Health for decision in the coming week. We continue in our commitment to working with our community and elected officials on a transparent and evidence-informed process related to the location of this life-saving service.”
The last minute change of plans now begs the question: if a new location is to be chosen, where should SafePoint go?
Looking at other cities, Hamilton’s consumption site is a block from city hall.
London is currently served by a mobile unit and this summer one will open up about 300 metres from a high school in the city’s downtown.
A CTS site in Kitchener sits squarely in the downtown core, right across the street from city hall and a church.
It’s not just about concerns from nearby businesses and residents that has Agostino pushing for a new location, but also the impact on potential clients. He said a recent conversation with an old friend — who’s now a drug user — opened his eyes to the aspect of respecting human dignity and stigma experienced by people accessing these services.
“’Do you think when there's a Tigers game, and the cars are lined up along Main Street. Do you think I'm gonna walk in there?’” His friend told him. “’Do you think I'm gonna walk here so everybody that knows me or used to know me is going to see me walking in to CTS site? I'm not going to do that.’”
Bill Marra, the president and CEO of Hotel Dieu Grace HealthCare said this harm reduction strategy is but one prong of a greater plan for tackling the opioid and drug crisis in the community, which also includes prevention, treatment and enforcement.
“This is not for everyone. It's not going to solve everything, but it's certainly going to go a long way in providing another option,” Marra said.
He points to roughly 40 other CTS sites operating across Canada at this very moment, arguing they have been very successful in preventing overdoses and death. He also notes that myths around reduced property values and an uptick in crime around these centres has been proven false.
The discussion around location is missing the point — it’s really about opening up the service without further delay.
“There are lives that are at stake and that's not sensationalizing it or overdramatizing,” Marra said. “We know for a fact people are dying. This will reduce fatal and non-fatal overdoses for sure.”
Agostino will press forward with a new motion in two weeks and wants to lead up the search for a new location that works for everyone.
“The best for the people that need those services, the best for the people that live in the neighborhood, the best for the businesses that operate there,” he said. “I want to do better.”
Cape Breton University has more than doubled in size by enrolling thousands of international students, and critics say the campus and community weren't ready. Watch the documentary 'Cash Cow' on CTV W5, Saturday at 7 p.m.
In a choice forced upon them by the Canadian government, four mothers have made the agonizing decision to forfeit an opportunity to repatriate their children from open air prisons in northeast Syria.
Statistics Canada has released its new report about the Canadians level of confidence in Canada’s institutions, finding that recent immigrants are more likely to express confidence in the media and parliament.
A new Canadian study of 4.8 million people says a daily alcoholic drink isn't likely to send anyone to an early grave, nor will it offer any of the health benefits touted by previous studies, even if it is organic red wine.
Lawyers representing Toronto MP Han Dong served Global News with a libel notice on Friday over reports that alleged he spoke to a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 about delaying the release of the two Michaels, and that he was a 'witting affiliate' of Chinese interference networks – allegations that Dong denies.
A recent report from Royal LePage is predicting a drop in prices for Canadian cabins and cottages this year as demand softens from economic uncertainty and low housing stock.
Interim RCMP commissioner Michael Duheme says he would support the Criminal Code changes recommended in the Mass Casualty Commission report to implement stricter gun laws.
Saturday morning has been filled with mainly sunny skies. However, clouds will be drifting in across the region beginning Saturday afternoon, bringing with them a chance of showers.
London police responded to Dundas Street, just west of William Street around 6:30 p.m. Friday evening for a reported shooting. According to police, one person is in custody.
A U.S. citizen charged with threatening death or bodily harm to Justin Trudeau made a virtual court appearance from a London jail Friday. Jeremy Joseph, 40 — who is living in Sarnia, Ont. — was arrested on Feb. 4, 2023 after Sarnia police were notified of emails containing threats.
Tourism Barrie brought a report from a consulting firm to council, recommending upgrades to the arena, including additional seats, modern concessions, and an open grand entrance on the building's north side. The proposed renovations would cost approximately $40 million but could bring significant economic benefits to the city.
Sigfrid Stahn walked out of the Barrie courthouse Friday a remorseful man one day after a jury found him guilty of impaired driving, causing a collision on Highway 12 in July 2020 that killed a 77-year-old Midland man.
A northern Ontario man has been banned from licenced hunting and fined $5,000 after pleading guilty to having more than six times the legal limit of grouse and obstructing conservation officers.
Ontario's guns and gangs team says with the help of police in Sudbury and Durham, it has disrupted a large drug trafficking operation, seizing 2.7 kilograms of cocaine and arresting six.
Police say the bodies of eight migrants have been retrieved from the waters off the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne, straddling the Canada - U.S. border. The people whose bodies were recovered Thursday and Friday consisted of two families of Romanian and Indian origins who were likely trying to enter the U.S. illegally, police said Friday.
In one day, Ontario midwife Manavi Handa saw three patients who will have to pay thousands of dollars to be able to schedule a C-section beginning on Sunday.
Akwesasne Mohawk Police say they are working with Immigration Canada and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to confirm the identities of the eight migrants whose bodies were pulled from the St. Lawrence River this week.
April Fools' Day -- better known as poisson d'Avril in Quebec -- is upon us. Some of the province's familiar faces got into the spirit Saturday with a few light-hearted social media pranks.
After the RCMP commissioner admitted he didn't read the Mass Casualty Commission’s final recommendations, family members of those killed in the April 2020 tragedy say they have doubts the force will change.
A doctor named in a lawsuit after a Nova Scotia woman died in hospital following a long wait to see a physician has denied allegations from the family that he failed in his duties.
Officials in Vancouver said they plan to meet with the artist and volunteers who are keeping vigil on a children's shoe memorial on the steps of the city's art gallery in an effort to end the tribute to children who didn't return from residential schools.
B.C.'s securities regulator has permanently banned a Vancouver lawyer from the financial markets after he was convicted in a U.S. court for his role in a US$34-million fraud.
