Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
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Ontario is pulling funding for the last remaining provincially funded supervised drug consumption site, after announcing funding cuts at seven others last month.
The province says in a press release that the site in Kingston will close on Sept. 30 and immediately transition to the government’s abstinence-based model — a homelessness and addiction recovery treatment, or HART, hub.
It says the move “responds directly to local concerns over public safety” associated with consumption sites, and the province will double its annual funding for the hub, bringing it to $6.3 million.
It comes after the province announced last month it would cut funding to seven sites in Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara, Peterborough and London, giving them a 90-day wind-down period to transition to HART hubs.
Health-care workers and harm reduction advocates have said the defunding will force the sites to close, which could lead to more overdoses and deaths.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the government is “focused on real solutions” that support those struggling with addiction.
“The new HART hub in Kingston will connect vulnerable residents with the resources they need to rebuild their lives while protecting Ontario communities from dangerous behaviour driven by the increase and open use of illegal drugs,” Jones said in a press release on Friday.
In 2024, Premier Doug Ford’s government banned consumption sites within 200 metres of a school or daycare, targeting 10 sites across the province for closure by the end of March 2025. Most of those sites chose to close and convert to the province’s abstinence-based model.
The government also banned new consumption sites from opening altogether.
After the province pulled funding for the seven consumption sites in March, Kingston Community Health Centres, which runs the Kingston site, said it “immediately began planning for a closure.” It added at the time that it remained in “active dialogue” with the ministry and its partners.
Organizations including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Amnesty International have condemned the province’s move to defund consumption sites and called on the government to reverse its decision.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2026.
Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press
