West: Conservatives to blame as Sudbury's supervised consumption site forced to close without funding

QUEEN'S PARK—After Sudbury's Supervised Consumption Site, ‘The Spot,’ was forced to close, Official Opposition NDP MPP Jamie West (Sudbury) strongly criticized the Conservative Government’s refusal to provide any provincial funding. This decision comes despite Sudbury having one of the highest opioid-related overdose rates in Ontario.

"The Spot" provides healthcare. Healthcare is a provincial responsibility, and the Premier refused to fund it,” said West. “For a year and a half, ‘The Spot’ operated solely on municipal funds and community donations while this provincial government sat on its hands. That is not leadership. The fact that the site remained open for 16 months without any provincial funding is remarkable and speaks to the community's strong support for its existence.

"The Conservatives want people to believe these sites don't work, which couldn't be further from the truth. The Spot saves lives. My constituent, James Gough, is living proof of that. He is a former addict, and he was saved by staff at ‘The Spot’ when he overdosed. Without them, he would be another tragic statistic. Now, where are people like James supposed to turn to?

"Every life lost will be on this Conservative Government's watch. This is a massive misstep and failure of judgment. Doug Ford needs to step up and protect the lives of Ontarians. We have concrete solutions that could do this today."