Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones sent a letter, released publicly on Thursday, to Toronto medical officer of health Eileen de Villa warning that the province could take unspecified action if the city failed to rescind its application to decriminalize simple drug possession.Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press
Toronto’s attempt to decriminalize possession of small amounts of hard drugs has no hope of success, the head of the city’s health board conceded Thursday, because Ottawa is unwilling to consider an application opposed by the provincial government.
The city’s health board submitted an application to Health Canada two years ago to decriminalize simple drug possession as part of a strategy to address an overdose crisis that claimed more than 500 lives in Toronto that year alone.
Toronto’s submission followed a similar application from British Columbia, which was eventually approved and took effect last year only to be partly reversed earlier this month after a request from the province amid concerns over public drug use and disorder.
The partial rollback of B.C.’s exemption rekindled a nationwide debate on the whole idea of decriminalizing drugs and put Toronto’s similar proposal under an intense political spotlight.
City Councillor Chris Moise, who chairs Toronto’s board of health, said recent comments from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Ottawa would proceed on drug-decriminalization requests only with provincial approval means Toronto’s proposal is going nowhere for now. The Ontario government has vocally opposed Toronto’s application and warned earlier on Thursday that it could intervene if the city did not withdraw its application.
“There is no need to do that. Because again, as stated by the Prime Minister, he needs direction from the province whether to proceed or not. So whether we rescind it or not is a moot point. And I have no intention of doing so,” Mr. Moise said. “… Let the other levels of government decide what they want to do about it.”
Mr. Moise told reporters he stands by the application he and his board approved.
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones sent a letter, released publicly on Thursday, to Toronto medical officer of health Eileen de Villa warning that the province could take unspecified action if the city failed to rescind its application.
The letter, also signed by the province’s Solicitor-General, Michael Kerzner, says the government was responding to recent comments from Toronto Public Health that it had received no “formal” notice of Ontario’s opposition to what it calls Toronto’s “misguided request to decriminalize dangerous illegal drugs.” The ministers write that if Dr. de Villa does not rescind the application, Ontario would “be forced to explore all options available to us.”
“While our government has already been perfectly clear on multiple occasions, please consider this as formal as possible: Ontario is 100 per cent opposed to your proposal,” the letter reads.
“Under no circumstances will our government ever support your request, which would only add to crime and public drug use while doing nothing to support people struggling with addiction. We will also be making our opposition clear to the federal government.”
Mr. Moise made his comments alongside Mayor Olivia Chow, who has previously told The Globe and Mail the debate over decriminalization was a “diversion” and that decriminalization would not work without other elements in the city’s plan, which include dramatically ramping up drug-treatment capacity.
Both Mr. Moise and the mayor urged the provincial and federal governments to expand the number of addiction-treatment beds, reduce long waiting times, fund a new 24-7 drug crisis centre and build more supportive housing – while leaving the decriminalization debate aside.
“Minister Jones said she wants to look at solutions,” Ms. Chow said. “Well, let us focus on the solutions. It’s the treatment program, backed up by shelter and housing, with good mental health support. That’s how we can prevent some of these deaths.
“Whether you decriminalize anything, it does not matter at this point because there’s no treatment program,” the mayor said.
In an interview on Thursday, Dr. de Villa said it was unusual for elected officials to write such a letter to a civil servant, and that it was up to governments to decide what to do with the decriminalization plan.
She said the city’s proposal is supported by evidence and would reduce the stigma around drugs that drives many to use, and overdose, alone or fail to seek help. But she has also said new rules must be put in place to prevent public drug use, and that if governments preferred to act first on expanding addictions treatment programs, that would also be a good step.
“My job is to give advice, premised on the best available evidence, and the decision-making, including the decision-making around policy, is actually for the elected officials to take on,” said Dr. de Villa, who announced this week that she was leaving her post at the end of year.
Toronto’s proposal, first submitted to Health Canada two years ago, has been vehemently condemned in recent weeks by both Premier Doug Ford, who vowed to fight it “tooth and nail,” and his associate Minister for Mental Health and Addictions, Michael Tibollo, after B.C. requested for Ottawa to partly roll back its experiment with decriminalization.
The letter released Thursday says the Ontario government was surprised Toronto had not already rescinded its request, given what has happened in B.C.
The letter also says that after a review of supervised drug consumption sites, prompted by a fatal shooting outside one such facility in Toronto’s Leslieville area, the province plans to bring in unspecified “enhanced accountability measures” for these sites “to ensure that the safety and well-being of the public is protected.” Ontario had capped the number of such sites, and Mr. Ford has said he opposes them.
Asked for details about the coming new measures, Hannah Jensen, a spokeswoman for Ms. Jones, said more information would be forthcoming in a few weeks. Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park, Mr. Kerzner declined to offer any details about the measures.
Mr. Trudeau had already essentially put Toronto’s request for a B.C.-style drug-law exemption on ice, saying earlier this month that the city’s application was not “active” and that Ottawa would only work on decriminalization proposals when provincial governments agree with the plans.
Yuval Daniel, a spokeswoman for the federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Ya’ara Saks, has also previously said that Toronto Public Health had not responded to a series of questions about its proposal, an assertion Dr. de Villa has denied.
Late last month, federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was ejected from the Commons for calling Mr. Trudeau “wacko” for allowing the B.C. exemption.
Toronto’s 153-page request to Health Canada, first filed in 2022 and updated in March, 2023, was supported by Toronto Public Health, an array of harm-reduction experts and Toronto Police.