May 28th, 2022

Horwath promises new 40-bed detox centre in Thunder Bay

THUNDER BAY – If elected, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will build and fund the operation of a 40-bed detox centre in Thunder Bay to tackle the long-standing and growing crisis of toxic drug supply and overdose deaths in Thunder Bay.

“Too many parents have had to bury their child because of a toxic overdose. It’s heartbreaking and horrifying how the opioid epidemic is taking precious lives, and tearing families apart. The enormity of the opioid and overdose epidemic is a call to action,” said Horwath.

“We will build the 40-bed detox centre that Thunder Bay needs — to stop the harm and save lives.”

Thunder Bay continues to have the highest rate of accidental overdose deaths in Ontario, with two people dying every five days in 2021. Opioid-related deaths in Thunder Bay are ten times higher than the provincial average.

The Ontario NDP will approve and fund the St. Joseph’s Care Group proposal for a much needed 40-bed integrated crisis centre in Thunder Bay. Horwath will immediately approve capital and operational funding to ensure that timelines for the project are met.

The NDP will also approve operational funding for the Junot Ave Indigenous Youth Transitional Housing Facility to immediately bring culturally appropriate support to youth living in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario who are struggling with addiction and recovery.

Horwath and the NDP will also:

  • Immediately remove arbitrary caps on safe consumption sites across Ontario to remove barriers and improve access to stigma-free services.
  • Bring mental health care under OHIP so counselling and therapy is accessible at no cost.
  • Fund primary care doctors, nurses, community health care workers and social workers to increase the number of culturally-appropriate practitioners, including immediately hiring 40 mental health practitioners in the North.

St Joseph’s Care group submitted the proposal for a 40-bed facility to the Ford government in March 2021. The government has not responded.

Doug Ford has cut $2 billion from planned mental health and addictions funding over four years. In 2020 his cuts closed 29 residential treatment beds in the North. He also put an arbitrary cap on the number of safe consumption and overdose prevention sites in the province.

Background

  • The influx of toxic drugs in Thunder Bay is getting worse and more volatile – in 2021, there were three public warnings about toxic supply. The most recent alert was in January 2022, warning the community about Etonitazene, ten times more potent as fentanyl. There has been a recent influx of crystal meth accounting for overdose cases, as well as recent trends of opioids mixed with other sedatives such as benzodiazepines.
  • Northern Ontario is currently short of about 40 psychiatrists.
  • First Nations communities are still reeling from the impact of intergenerational trauma – bias, exclusion, and racism in health care directed at marginalized Indigenous communities has created mistrust. The remaining impact of colonial artifacts, such as three residential schools in the area and uncovering of mass graves has compromised Indigenous Peoples’ sense of safety when receiving care.
  • In 2021, there were 152 overdose deaths in the Thunder Bay Health Unit catchment area, and in 2020 there were 99 drug-related deaths, of which 64 were opioid-related.
  • In 2020, there were 6,828 emergency department visits to Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre – 20 per cent of mental health patients returned within 30 days, and 45 per cent of substance-use patients returned within 30 days.
  • Young people and children in Thunder Bay can wait up to 348 days for counselling and therapy, and up to 207 days for intensive treatment beds.

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