Regional Chair backs motion to pressure the province to fund CTS

Consumption and treatment services sites continue to dominate the discussion at Regional Council.

Councillor for Kitchener, Rob Deutschmann tabled a motion asking council to petition the provincial government to reverse its defunding plans for CTS sites. Included in the province’s plan is the closure of 10 sites it has determined were too close to schools or childcare centers. The location at 150 Duke St. West in Kitchener is among those slated for closure.

Deutschmann’s motion passed with the support of Regional Chair Karen Redman.

Redman was on The Mike Farwell Show and said the loss of Kitchener’s CTS site will result in more overdose deaths. She said by every metric available, the site has been a success.

“I look at the uptake for paramedic services and since 2020, we’ve averaged around 1,300 calls annually and 144 opioid overdose calls per month. So, we know it has been saving lives and we know it has made an impact on saving some of those other emergency services.”

Redman said community partners like ACCKWA, Sanguen Health Centre and Kitchener Community Health Care are devastated by the provincial cuts.

“We could not deliver the service we do without those partners,” adding, “They don’t want to see anymore body bags with people who died from overdose or poison drugs.”

The province has said it plans to implement the proposed cuts in March, 2025