UMVA has learned that a vital lifeline for thousands of people struggling with addiction in Ontario is on the verge of being extinguished. The provincial government has announced plans to cut funding for the province's eight remaining publicly funded supervised consumption sites, leaving many to wonder if they will survive without these services.
For Riley Bisson, a 50-year-old who has spent nearly three decades in and out of the correctional system, the Moss Park supervised consumption site in Toronto has become a refuge, a family, and a walk-in clinic. It's a place where she can safely use drugs without worrying about dying of an overdose, and where she has received support and care from staff who have saved her life on four occasions.
Bisson's story is a testament to the site's success. Since she started visiting the site, she has been able to stay out of trouble and avoid returning to jail. "This place is a prime example of helping people like me not go back to doing the crime or doing the stupidity that I was doing," she said, her voice filled with emotion. "I haven't been back in jail in three years because of this place."
The looming closure of the site has sparked fear and anger among those who depend on it, as well as their family members and harm-reduction advocates. They warn that the closures will lead to more overdose deaths, increased health-care costs, and compromised public safety. Bisson is terrified about what will happen to her if the site closes, and fears she will end up behind bars, in hospital, or dead on the street.
Rose Bisson, Riley's mother, is also devastated by the news. She hopes to deliver a message to the Premier: "There are many, many families just like our family that suffer daily with this. We don't want our family member to die." The family has been separated from Riley as she deals with her addiction, but the supervised consumption site has been a vital link, keeping them in touch through weekly calls.
The data supports the concerns of those who rely on these services. In April of last year, the government forced the closure of nine other supervised consumption sites, and the results have been alarming. The number of suspected drug toxicities treated by emergency medical services in Ontario jumped from 604 in the first quarter of 2025 to 1,024 in the third. In Toronto, paramedics received 387 non-fatal suspected opioid overdose calls in March, more than double the number of calls they received in March last year.
Gillian Kolla, a public health researcher, has received funding to study the effect of the changes in Ontario's harm reduction service delivery. She warns that the government's abstinence-based model, which includes the introduction of "homelessness and addiction recovery treatment" (HART) hubs, will leave out a significant portion of people with the most "problematic patterns" of drug use. "It's a bit of magic thinking on the part of the Ontario government to think that you're going to cut harm reduction services like consumption sites, and that's going to somehow magically push people into treatment that also is not available to folks," she said.
The Moss Park site, which has reversed over 4,000 overdoses since its founding in 2018, costs close to $2 million a year to run. Staff work tirelessly to provide a range of services, including mental health support, health care, social work, and case management. The site's manager, Sarah Greig, believes that the government's hubs serve a different population than supervised consumption sites, and that both are essential. "Every day that people show up here, it's a sign that they are trying and trying to stay alive and trying to cope and work on their wellness," she said.
The planned closures will worsen the overdose crisis due to a large supply of "unregulated and unpredictable" drugs, Greig warns. "I think there's going to be dead people littering our streets again." Dr. Katie Dorman, a primary care physician, agrees, saying that supervised consumption sites have played a significant role in connecting people who are dealing with addiction with the health-care system. "People overdose when they don't know what they're using and when their drug supply is contaminated," she said.
For those who rely on these services, the closure is a matter of life and death. Rodney Wabanosse, who has an addiction to fentanyl, has lost count of the number of people he's lost to overdoses. "I'm lucky to be here... because of this place and because they saved my life a lot of times," he said. The site's closure will hinder his efforts to detox and stop using drugs, and he fears for his life and the lives of those he cares about.
