It’s been six years since a drug consumption and treatment site (CTS) opened in Downtown Guelph. And while that may have been considered the best place for it back then, that may not still be the case, says Mayor Cam Guthrie.
“I would say, moving to today, that there are issues that I believe do occur around these sites that … give me pause for greater concern,” Guthrie told GuelphToday. “If there aren't some external safeguards put in the public realm around these sites, it does greatly concern me. And I've actually always had that concern.”
In Guthrie’s eyes, the issue is strictly the location – housed in the Guelph Community Health Centre on Wyndham Street North, at the corner with Woolwich Street – and not the service itself.
“We have to remember that people are really struggling with addictions, and it's a growing issue, and that's why I believe that the services being provided there are warranted,” said Guthrie.
“People's lives are being destroyed by the toxic drugs and the addictions that people have, and families' lives are being destroyed because they're seeing their loved ones struggle with these issues. And so, we have to remember that there are real people behind these issues.”
Guelph’s CTS site opened in 2018, following approval from the federal and provincial health ministries. While there, community members who use substances have access to a variety of services such as wound care and agency referrals, distribution of harm reduction supplies, as well as supervised injection areas meant to reduce drug poisoning deaths.
“Injection sites in sensitive areas or downtown cores aren’t working in my personal opinion,” Guthrie said in a social media post on Thursday. “Kids near them, open drug use around them, challenging (and in some cases very scary) behavioural issues for our small and medium sized businesses and more.
“Something’s gotta change.”
Guelph’s CTS, like all others in Ontario, is currently being reviewed by the provincial government, but the scope of and timeline for that review isn’t clear. Efforts to reach a Ministry of Health spokesperson weren’t immediately successful.
In a social media post on Friday, GCHC chief executive officer Melissa Kwiatkowski said she’s “deeply disappointed with the recent public discussion” about the CTS.
“Guelph’s Consumption & Treatment Services (CTS) site is a life-saving, evidence-based health care service that is located downtown because people need to access it to stay alive,” she wrote.
“Taking a piecemeal approach of relocating a lifesaving CTS or the equity-deserving community members who access it due to ‘behavioural issues’ will not solve this complex issue. We need a bold and comprehensive system plan to address the health and housing needs of the community.”
Adding to his concerns, Guthrie notes the area around the CTS will see the addition of public spaces in the next few years. He points to the construction of a new central library and public parking, along with plans for a public square, within metres of the site.
