City council voted to look at other funding options after province announced the site will close in June
City of St. Catharines not letting its drug injection site be shut down without a fight, after the provincial government said it'll be closed this summer.
Council voted to have city staff look into other funding options, and monitor impacts of closing the site.
Talia Storm of Positive Living Niagara, that runs the site, explained closing impacts in cities like Hamilton. "Displacement of drug into public areas, like washrooms, libraries or parks, which might also lead to more needles in communities. More strain on municipal systems and staff... preliminary data out of one municipality is showing a 38% increase in crime in neighbourhoods where sites have closed."
Provincial government wants people getting help from HART hubs instead, which the Niagara region has.
Council also voted to have the HART hub explain its plans to help addicts.
However, Mayor Mat Siscoe, with some councillors, voted against funding options portion, saying this is not for city taxpayers to handle. "We've talked about shelters, we've talked about supportive housing, we've talking about outreach programs. We have said no to most cases, and I think we made the right decision in avoiding to pay for other peoples' responsibilities."
He also says city staff are not equipped to recommend funding options for something that is provincial or federal.
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