The Kitchener Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site closed on Mar. 31, 2025 as per the provincial government’s Community Care and Recovery Act (CCRA).
The Act states CTS sites cannot operate within 200-metres of a school or daycare. Kitchener is one of ten sites across Ontario that fall under this category.
Since the provincial government introduced the CCRA and passed Bill 233 last fall, advocates across Ontario have been committed to reversing the province’s decision.
A legal challenge initiated by The Neighbourhood Group in Toronto sought an injunction to suspend provisions in the act that would eliminate consumption services as well as a constitutional challenge seeking to strike the CCRA.
The challenge was supported by a number of interveners, including the Waterloo Region Drug Action Team (WR DAT).
On Friday Mar. 28, John Callaghan, Ontario Superior Court Judge, granted the injunction to keep CTS sites that were slated to close open for an additional 30 days while a final decision is made on the charter challenge.
In his decision, Callaghan wrote that the closure of CTS sites would cause significant harm, including loss of life.
“While this decision is an encouraging step, we remain deeply concerned that the province has confirmed it will not provide ongoing funding to [safe consumption sites] making it extremely challenging to continue operations,” Julie Kalbfleisch, director of communications at Sanguen Health Centre, said in a statement.
“We are proud to have stood alongside partners in advocating for evidence-based harm reduction, and we urge the province to reconsider its approach. We will continue to encourage policies that prioritize human rights for all,” the statement read.
Michael Parkinson, a drug strategy specialist and volunteer with the WR DAT, said intervenors argued in court that the CCRA is unconstitutional.
“The government has been provided advice by their internal analysts and legal counsel last year that the act would increase the risk of deaths of Ontario’s and would lead to the spread of blood borne diseases, cause a strain on hospital emergency rooms and first responders,” Parkinson said.
In response, the province argued that the application should be dismissed with costs, claiming that the CCRA does not create a prohibition against supervised consumption sites but rather reinforces a zoning restriction.
At the same time, the province has said they will not be providing further funding to supervised consumption sites, citing their plan to transition CTS sites to HART Hubs.
“Ontario argued in court that the CCRA is essentially just a zoning issue that is within the jurisdiction of the province and that consumption services were free to move outside of any 200-meter buffer,” Parkinson said.
“In reality, this appears to be a prohibition on a proven lifesaving service known as consumption and treatment services,” Parkinson said.
Considering the injunction, WR DAT said in a press release that they will be asking for emergency funding from Waterloo regional council to keep Kitchener’s CTS site open.
While the future of the Kitchener CTS remains unclear, local advocates continue to state its evident impact on the community.
“In 2024 alone, the site recorded 15,050 client visits, managed 79 overdoses on-site, and prevented countless more through education, naloxone distribution, and connections to care. Since opening in 2019, the site has overseen more than 1,000 overdose interventions with zero fatalities,” Kalbfleisch said in a statement.
Sanguen Health Centre has enacted a plan to ensure the community continues to have access to harm reduction, support and overdose prevention services.
In partnership with Traverse Independent Brain Injury Services, Sanguen plans to create a drop in space for people who use substances. Located at 140 Victoria St. in Kitchener, the space will not provide supervised consumption services.
“Many of the other supports that were a valued part of the CTS will be available, including access to primary care, social support, connection to community resources, and a welcoming space for people to engage,” Sanguen said in a statement.
Local advocates continue to stress concern over losing supervised consumption services, including the impact on individuals who use substances and the impact on local paramedic services.
“I know there’s a lot of folks that are really worried for their lives, the folks that use this service. That’s a lot of emotional burden and a heavy load for frontline workers to carry,” Aislinn Clancy, Green Party MPP, said. “We have to continue to raise the alarm.”
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