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Dear neighbour, The Conservatives have announced they will close ten consumption and treatment sites in Ontario, including the Kensington Overdose Prevention Site on Augusta Ave. Any site 200 meters from schools or daycares will be banned from operating. The government also plans to restrict needle exchanges so used needles cannot be replaced with clean ones, as well as ban municipalities from asking the Federal government to permit the regulated and controlled distribution of safe drugs to people in need. Ontario says they’re doing this to reduce crime and stop needles from being near children. This is not true. If it were true, consumption sites would be permitted to relocate, but the Conservatives have banned new sites from opening anywhere. The Minister of Health Sylvia Jones was asked by reporter Jack Hauen from The Trillium if research had been done about “how many people will die as a result of this decision.” “Jack, people are not going to die”, the Minister replied, “they’re going to get access to service.” The Minister’s comment is as dangerous as encouraging a drowning person to learn how to swim, instead of throwing them a lifejacket. Douglas Kwan from the Association of Legal Clinics Ontario came up with this grim analogy. Consumption sites are about reducing harm and saving lives. Since opening in 2019, the Kensington site provides a room for people to use substances with trained staff on hand to respond to overdoses, provide education and supplies, like clean needles, and connect people to healthcare, counseling and other essential services. Drug use doesn’t just magically disappear if needle exchanges are banned and consumption and treatment sites are shut down. If consumption sites close, people will use drugs alone at home, in restaurant washrooms, on the street, and yes, in nearby school yards. There will be more needles discarded on the street. Diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C will spread. More people will end up in very busy emergency rooms, like Toronto Western. And far more people will die. When Premier Ford was asked why he was closing sites his government originally approved, the Premier said it’s just his “personal opinion” that they don’t work. He said critics should be happy that he’s pouring $378 million into new treatment hubs - there will be 19 of them - and 375 supportive housing units. Ford’s plan is like a little two-legged stool trying to support an elephant. It’s missing a key plank, and it’s too weak to deal with the enormity of Ontario’s drug addiction crisis. The statistics are horrific. According to Public Health Ontario, in 2022, 2531 people died of an overdose in 2022, 2044 hospitalizations, and 12,144 emergency room visits. To save lives in the short term, Ontario needs to meet people where they are at while also investing far more in housing, treatment, and health care to help people recover and rebuild their lives in the medium and long-term. It's not this or that. It's both. This is what health care experts are calling for. We all benefit from this evidence-based approach. Sincerely,
Jessica Bell In this newsletter:
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Ontario has a new childcare funding plan. Will it work?On Thursday, August 16, after months of pressure, the Conservative government announced a new funding model affecting childcare centres enrolled in the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program. Here’s what’s been announced. Beginning in January 2025, Ontario will cap fees for kids under six to $22/day, move towards a cost-based funding approach, and introduce a "legacy top-up" so existing operators in the program can pay expenses that exceed typical ones like higher rent based on their location. The formula sets an average eight-percent profit for for-profit operators and an average eight-percent surplus for non-profit operators. Ontario’s childcare sector has been in crisis for years. Long waitlists make it hard for families to find childcare where and when they need it. Poor wages have made it nearly impossible for operators to recruit and retain staff, let alone expand to meet demand. These problems have been compounded under the CWELCC rollout as more and more families seek affordable childcare and can’t find an available spot for their child. Without a sustainable funding agreement, some childcare centres are choosing to leave the affordable childcare program, and others are closing down. While this announcement is a positive development, we’re already hearing concerns that the new model does not include any new wage increases or a wage grid for Early Childhood Educators. This has been a key and consistent demand of childcare advocates. We’re also hearing concerns that for-profit operators will continue to be treated the same as non-profits, meaning public dollars could go towards commercial profits rather than get reinvested into the sector. Children and families across the province deserve access to a $10-a-day, high-quality licensed childcare spot. To achieve this, we are calling on the Conservatives to adequately fund operators so they can cover their true costs, including wage increases to keep and recruit staff. We’re also urging the province to establish a robust capital funding program to facilitate the expansion of non-profit and public child care facilities to meet the need for high-quality childcare. Parents and childcare providers, I look forward to hearing your opinion on this announcement.
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Please join myself and MPP Chris Glover for our upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival Community Social on Monday, September 16th, from 7:15 PM to 9:00 PM at Cecil Community Centre, 58 Cecil Street, Toronto. All are welcome!A light Chinese dinner and fruit will be provided. Kindly use the form or call 437-370-1733 to RSVP so we can order enough food and send you a reminder. |
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Join our Yorkville Town Hall on September 26As your provincial elected official, it’s my job to represent you at Queen’s Park. The provincial legislature makes regulations and laws that affect our lives, including housing, condo rules, development, funding for cities, transit, schools, universities, and health care. We’re hosting a Yorkville Town Hall on Thursday September 26 from 7pm - 8:30pm at the Stone Church, 45 Davenport Rd. Come to get an update on what’s happening at Queen’s Park, and in our community, share your concerns, meet your neighbours, and have your questions answered. Light refreshments will be provided. RSVP here. |
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Thank you for joining us at our volunteer socialWe had a fantastic time at Christie Pits Park this August enjoying pizza and thanking our volunteers for their work in our office. We regularly canvass our neighbourhood to find out what people care about. This is how we learn what the key issues are in our area, and how we organize to build power to change laws and improve our city and province. Ready to join us? Sign up at https://www.jessicabellmpp.ca/volunteer |