Still no timeline on when province could say yay or nay to SCS

Barrie is no closer to having a supervised consumption site (SCS) than it was when the last term of city council endorsed it.

Although any news is sparse at best, the long discussion around an SCS — a facility referred to by the province as Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) — remains in limbo and awaiting possible next steps.

An SCS is a facility that provides a safe space and sterile equipment for individuals to use pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of health-care staff. Consumption refers to taking opioids and other drugs by injection, smoking, snorting, or orally.

The last city council, which sat from 2018 to 2022, gave its approval to a possible site at 11 Innisfil St. 

The debate around the site began in 2019 when the issue was brought to council to municipal endorsement, although it's the province's Progressive Conservative government under Premier Doug Ford that has the final say on approval, because it's a health-care matter and the province would fund the facility, if given the green light at Queen's Park.  

After many delays and accusations of “stall tactics,” city council backed the Innisfil Street address on June 1, 2021 as the preferred site for the SCS.

As the lead applicant on the proposal, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Simcoe County Branch submitted a funding request to the province in October 2021.

In September 2022, the site also received approval from Health Canada for an exemption to allow the use of illegal drugs at the proposed location. A Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) exemption would allow staff at the facility to test and handle drugs without any criminal sanctions.

And that's where it still stands today. There have been no updates from the province on its plans to either approve or deny the request for an SCS.

Meredith Fryia, manager of addiction services with the CMHA's local branch, says they still haven’t heard anything back.

“We’re in a process now of waiting to hear back and we don’t have any timeline on when we might,” Fryia told BarrieToday. “They don’t provide you with any timeline.”

Fryia says the long wait isn’t out of the ordinary, and conversations with other municipalities have shown that.

However, the next finish line to cross is only the beginning of the waiting process for an SCS to possibly open.

“There are extensive renovations that have to happen," she said. "Once we are approved by the ministry and they have to provide your operational funding, you then have to enter into a capital planning process to put in an application for capital funding to do those renovations.

“We were advised that the capital funding application approval could be anywhere from six to 12 months," Fryia added. 

If approved, Fryia said local proponents would then have to do other things, such as get a quote for tender, speak to a contractor and then start renovations.

“This is not going to be a quick process," she said. 

In October 2018, when he was still the Conservative MP for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte (BSOM), current Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall said he was “unequivocally” opposed placing an SCS in the city's downtown. In March 2019, also while still MP, Nuttall said he was in favour of the council at the time declaring the opioid epidemic as a public health emergency. 

Fast-forward to the spring of 2023 and Nuttall now says the city’s stance on an SCS was approved during the last term of council and is a provincial issue.

“It is something that is funded by the provincial government and approved by other levels of government, and, as of yet, there has not been an announcement to provide funding for that facility,” said Nuttall, who was elected Barrie's mayor in October 2022.  

But Nuttall did not shy away from his opinions on an SCS in Barrie and where he stands now. 

“The city (council) has made decisions previous to my election as mayor and that decision is not one that I would have personally endorsed at that point," he told BarrieToday. "But with regards to where we are at today, it's in the province’s hands and certainly if the province is going to proceed with funding, they’ll alert us."

The mayor says his opinion on opening an SCS in Barrie hasn't change since he was the local MP. 

"My personal belief on this is known and I think we have to be careful with how many of these services we are putting directly into the city’s core," Nuttall added. "We see the effects of some of the challenges we’re facing as a city, and that mid-sized cities are facing around North America, and we need to make sure the core of our city is one that is clean and safe and we’ll do whatever it takes to achieve that.”

When asked for his thoughts on what the city needs to do with issues such as homelessness and addiction, Nuttall said he's listening to the community.

“With regards to our city centre, I think there are a ton of services that are not only being offered but also being requested," he said. "What I’m hearing from the social services (sector) is that the most important piece in helping to provide assistance downtown to those who are struggling is to have a warming centre in the winter time, which is something we are working on both with the County of Simcoe and the city."

Meanwhile, the location for a proposed SCS on Innisfil Street was marred with issues from the start. Several people, including some residents in the area, have said they think it's a poor location, primarily because it's in a residential area. 

In the meantime, public health officials wait for word from the province about its next move.