Safe drug supply: Thunder Bay mayor retracts

In an open letter, Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boshcoff corrected his comments in an article published Wednesday in which he said the safe supply of drugs was drawing hundreds of thousands of people to the city and putting pressure on social services.

I made comments that, upon reflection, were misinformed and incorrecthe writes.

He takes full responsibility for this errorand indicates wanting take the opportunity to educate the public.

The program [d’approvisionnement sécuritaire en drogues] does not attract people to our community. It is a very small program serving fewer than 25 clients, who receive a prescription for a safer supply, under the supervision of health care providers.

He added that the pilot project has had positive effects since its implementation last year.

The mayor said the program appears to be reducing the use of dangerous drugs, crime and the number of emergency service calls.

This is confirmed by Juanita Lawson, executive director of NorWest Community Health Centres.

She explains that there has been a 92% reduction in overdoses and an 80% reduction in the number of people using fentanyl.

Mr. Boshcoff also indicated that contrary to what was mentioned in the TBNewsWatch article, the City does not have a direct role in the safe supply of drugs.

There are no City staff associated with this program. Additionally, safe supply is not provided in homeless encampments. It is only provided through NorWest Community Health Centres.

Surprising remarks

Brian Hamilton, a councilman for McKellar Ward, said he was surprised by the mayor’s comments. I know the situation, I know what’s happening at street level and I pride myself on being informed on a lot of issues.

I think it shows that there is a lot of polarization.Juanita Lawson said in response to the mayor’s comments.

There is a growing aversion to harm reduction programsdeplores Holly Gauvin, executive director of the Elevate NWO organization.

It was a shocksays the latter. My phone started flooding with messages as my staff sent me screenshots of the article in which the mayor made some pretty provocative and false statements.

This really underlines why we need to be so careful with our words, especially when we have a leadership role.

She believes the mayor’s initial goal was possibly to draw the province’s attention to the situation.

But a discussion that, again, is uninformed, is not evidence-based, is not fact-based, that’s a problem. And it really reinforces the stigma that our communities face.

Ms. Gauvin adds thatIt takes a lot of courage to do what the mayor did this morning, which is to look at a glaring mistake and take corrective action.

Frustration among many traders

The mayor’s erroneous comments were an echo of the frustration of several merchants.

I know it’s frustrating for those in our community who run businesses and for residents to understand the complex issues of homelessness, drug addiction and mental health issues.

Charla Robinson, president of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, says many members are facing issues such as: increased intrusions or the need to install additional security devices.

As a business owner, I understandsaid City Councilor Brian Hamilton. I see it every day actually.

He recognizes that the community is going through a crisis, but that it requires lots of patience and compassion.

Holly Gauvin believes that in some people there is a lack of tolerance for the distress that members of our community are currently facing.

I think it’s always easier to condemn people than to look into the issue and try to understand what’s going on.

For her part, Charla Robinson notes that limited capacity of treatment programs and increased demand are straining existing support systems.

She adds that the Chamber of Commerce supports the City in its efforts with the province and the federal government for more funding to fight addictions.

With information from CBC’s Kris Ketonen and Bienvenu Senga