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It is on this point that the provincial government’s current strategy, and its newly introduced legislation to tackle the opioid crisis, would benefit from further refinement and additional investment.    

Premier Doug Ford should be commended for trying to improve the lives of Ontarians battling addiction. His recent announcement to invest $378 million into 19 new “Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment” (HART) centres is a good start. These HART Hubs aim to provide valuable abstinence-focused services to those who seek them, accompanied by several hundred supportive housing units.

But while the HART hub plan offers us a path to a solution, it is an incomplete path.

Evidence shows that an abstinence-only approach to addiction doesn’t work for everyone, and without a wide range of services, these hubs will likely fall dangerously short of meeting the needs of our loved ones dealing with addiction. 

Consider the fact that every year, the supervised consumption sites being slated for closure in Ontario receive nearly 20,000 unique visitors. Now consider that the provincial government’s proposed HART initiative will build just 19 hubs province wide, with less than 400 new units of supportive housing overall. There are 444 municipalities in Ontario and just 19 proposed hubs in a province facing a deadly toxic drug crisis. That’s simply not enough support to go around, especially in a major city like Toronto.

It’s admirable that premier Ford has recognized the need for wraparound services, but for these services to work on a large scale, the province must also invest in them on a large scale. That means more hubs, more supportive housing, and substantially more treatment options.

Ontarians facing addiction challenges are often chronically homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Yet it is often only when people have a roof over their heads that they are able to seek treatment and stick with it.

In other words, we must meet people where they are, not where we wish them to be.

This same principle holds true when it comes to needle exchange programs and other harm reduction efforts, which the province’s new plan seeks to curtail if not eliminate. To address Ontario’s opioid crisis, we must offer diverse treatment options, including in correctional facilities, as has been successfully achieved in Alberta.

Indeed, some harm reduction models exist in other parts of Canada where an abstinence focused treatment model is also in place. This is because harm reduction doesn’t simply prevent overdoses and infectious diseases; it eases pressure on Emergency Response Services and our crowded ER’s.

It’s clear Premier Ford is going to bat for residents who are concerned about the impact of harm reduction on their own neighbourhoods. I will be the first to say that all residents deserve to live in peace and security. 

However, community safety is not a zero-sum game. It is possible to keep our neighbourhoods safe and clean while implementing comprehensive treatment services that save lives — even if it means moving those services to more appropriate locations and improving the way we deliver them. Our efforts must be focused on combatting addiction, not each other.

There is no one-size-fits all approach to the opioid crisis. This is why I am urging the provincial government to invite all community stakeholders in the addiction treatment space to sit at the table when it designs the HART Hub program. Premier Ford has an opportunity to make a big difference in the lives of Ontarians. But to do it he has to think big and invest big to meet the needs of vulnerable people.

There is no simple solution to the toxic drug crisis. But I know this: there will be no lasting solution in the absence of a collaborative, evidence-based approach.