While the Ontario government officially announced the first nine sites for its new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs on Thursday, the local effort to have one of the final 10 sites located in the Sault continues.
On Thursday, Thunder Bay's Path 525 was confirmed in a Ministry of Health news release to be among the nine current supervised consumption sites that will transition into a HART Hub. The other announced locations are in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, and Guelph.
Path 525, which is operated by Nor'West Health Centres, is the only remaining consumption and treatment services site in northern Ontario. Sites in Timmins and Sudbury were closed in 2024 due to lack of provincial funding.
Sault Ste. Marie's Mayor Matthew Shoemaker said in an email on Thursday that he is aware of the announcement for Thunder Bay.
"We continue to lobby the Ontario government for Sault Ste. Marie to be the location for one of the HART Hubs, based on having the worst stats in Ontario for overdoses, hospitalizations and deaths from opioids," said Shoemaker.
He said Sault MPP Ross Romano has confirmed he is lobbying for the city to receive one of the yet-to-be announced HART Hub locations.
"Until an announcement is made, we encourage every Saultite to continue to send in support letters to the Minister of Health and Ross Romano," Shoemaker said.
The additional 10 HART Hub sites are expected to be announced in the coming weeks and all are expected to be operational by April 1.
A template for those letters is available on the mayor's website.
The nine approved sites will be transitioned to the HART Hub model by March 31 and these sites will be able to receive up to four times more funding to support treatment and recovery than they did as safe consumption sites, the province says.
“We have heard loud and clear from families across Ontario that drug injection sites near schools and child-care centres are making our communities less safe,” said Sylvia Jones, deputy premier and minister of health, in a news release.
“Through these nine new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs, part of our government’s $378 million investment to create a total of 19 hubs across the province, we are taking the next step in our plan to keep communities safe while improving access to mental health and addictions services.”
The hubs include services such as primary care and mental health services including addiction care and support, social services, and employment support.
They will not support the safe consumption of illicit drugs.
The decision by the province to close Path 525 was met with concern by harm reduction workers and activists and opposing politicians.
— with files by Jodi Lundmark, TBNewsWatch