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Ontario Ends Funding for Seven Supervised Drug Sites, Starts 90-Day Wind-Down

The province says clients will be steered to HART hubs as it pivots to treatment-focused care.

The supervised drug consumption site at Fred Victor in Toronto is reportedly losing its provincial funding.
A file photo of the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, which employs 35 people at its consumption and treatment services program.
The SafePoint Consumption and Treatment Service site in Windsor, shown on October 6, 2023.
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Overview

  • The cuts target two sites in Toronto and two in Ottawa, with one each in Niagara, Peterborough and London.
  • A ministry letter to Toronto’s Fred Victor says provincial support ends June 13, and operators warn closures are likely without new funding.
  • Officials frame the shift as a move to recovery and public safety, pointing to nearly $550 million invested to establish 28 HART hubs.
  • Health agencies and site leaders warn of greater overdose risk and system strain, noting Peterborough managed 104 drug poisonings with no deaths and Ottawa’s site handles 600 to 1,000 injections weekly.
  • A 90-day transition is underway, but municipalities cannot open new sites without provincial sign-off, and communities such as Kingston are seeking clarity where no HART hub exists.