Rally being held to save Kitchener CTS site plus other ‘under threat’ services

A rally is set to be held this week, with advocates in the community hoping to save downtown Kitchener’s Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site.

This comes following the Ontario government tabling a bill on Nov. 18, pushing to ban sites within 200 metres of schools and childcare centres, along with the future creation of any new locations. Those bans would also include the closure of 10 sites across Ontario, including one in Guelph and Kitchener’s location at 150 Duke Street West.

“It’s key to remember that there is no substitute for a consumption and treatment service. It just doesn’t exist,” says Michael Parkinson, with the Waterloo Region Drug Action Team (WRDAT), which previously has said these closures will only compound the ongoing problems.

The Kitchener CTS dashboard currently shows that zero deaths have been reported at the site since it was first opened back in 2019. It also goes into details on overdose numbers, with figures showing 1,040 overdoses have been reported in that time, but 100 per cent of those have been reversed.

“What’s on the line here is, not just preventing overdoses, all of the on-site services that are provided by a CTS, but all of the external referrals numbering in tens of thousands – all of the impacts on the neighbourhoods,” said Parkinson.

He goes on to say the current bill would also have further stemming implications, not just for those directly tied to the CTS site, but also for those who need other services across the community.

“Even drug-checking services are under threat by this legislation,” said Parkinson. “It’s impossible to provide good public health support when supervised consumption sites and drug checking services are eliminated.”

Parkinson says the most perplexing part of the situation has been the clear lack of support for defunding the downtown Kitchener location, with groups fighting for the future of the site across Waterloo Region.

“Two motions from the City of Kitchener, a motion from the region of Waterloo urging the province to reverse course, letters from faith groups, the Downtown Advisory Committee in support, the daycare across the street in support, labour groups, health, medical, social service providers, students from the universities. It is a long, long list.”

Kitchener Centre MPP, Aislinn Clancy, also spoke at Queen’s Park following the initial tabling of the bill, sharing the same sentiments as Parkinson and pushing for the future of the sites.

“I’ve talked to the people who work there and I’ve talked to the people who use the sites,” said Clancy. “They tell me that this saves their lives and the data says that.”

The rally to save the CTS site is set to be held in correlation with the region’s Strategic Planning and Budget public input meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 27, with the rally set to be held between 6 and 8 p.m.

“Coming out on Wednesday to witness the proceedings is a really great step,” said Parkinson. “It’s free, it’s friendly, and it matters a lot.”