Regional council passes motion calling on province to continue CTS site funding

Regional councillors have sided with local advocates and called for the province to continue funding consumption and treatment services (CTS) sites.

The motion, brought forward by Councillor Jim Erb, passed by a vote of 13-2. Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett and Wilmot Mayor Natasha Salonen were the only two councillors to vote against it.

It calls for the province to keep funding CTS sites past March 2025, when new regulations are expected to see multiple areas across the province close, including the one in Kitchener at 150 Duke St. W. The decision comes a month after new regulations announced by the province will ban CTS sites within 200 metres of school and daycare zones.

The motion states in part that CTS sites have been “instrumental in preventing thousands of drug overdose deaths” and that crime statistics from regional police show the Kitchener site has not been linked to an increase in crime in its vicinity.

Local advocates have been pushing for the province to reverse course on its decision, including Supportive Housing Advocacy Waterloo Region (SHAWR).

Copies of the resolution will be sent to the premier, the minster of health, the minister of finance and other municipalities that have operating CTS sites.