Province Should Review if Involuntary Addiction Treatment Laws Need Enhancement, Ontario Mayors Say

A drug syringe and nasal overdose prevention drug can be seen near a popular drug spot in Ottawa on June 25, 2020. Lars Hagberg/AFP via Getty Images

Mayors from Ontario’s largest cities are calling on the provincial government to “immediately” address the growing addiction and mental health crisis impacting their communities.

At an Oct. 18 meeting in Markham, Ont., members of the Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) passed a resolution urging the Ontario government to review its mental health regulations, and determine whether involuntary treatment should be “enhanced” or “strengthened” to address the province’s mental health and opioid crisis.

They said the current regulations were written at a time when issues such as fentanyl addiction were not prevalent, and that the act needs to be updated to reflect the current challenges.

“We’re asking the province to urgently review the act, consult with experts, and then consider whether this is the right next step for the province of Ontario,” said Josh Morgan, mayor of London, Ont., and vice chair of the OBCM, at a press conference after the meeting.

This comes about a month after the British Columbia government brought in involuntary care for people with severe addictions who are mentally ill, following pressure from municipal leaders and a string of violent attacks linked to offenders with these issues.

The OBCM includes mayors from 29 Ontario cities with a population of 100,000 or more. Together, they represent nearly 70 percent of the province’s population.

For months, the OBCM has led a campaign called “Solve the Crisis,” asking the provincial and federal government for support to solve what they call “a humanitarian crisis happening on our streets,” which also includes rising homelessness. The OBCM says that, while the government has taken action on these issues, it has not been enough.

“It’s a crisis in each and every one of our cities, and is something that we are absolutely committed to taking actions as individual municipalities on but require the support of other levels of government,” said Morgan.

Cam Guthrie, mayor of Guelph, Ont., and past chair of the OBCM, said mayors have been “united” for several years regarding issues such as encampments, open drug use, and threats to public safety; and that community members need to make their voices heard by the province to ensure it prioritizes these concerns.

“It has to happen immediately, or more lives are going to be lost in our communities, where families are going to be destroyed, where businesses are going to be hurt, and our economic opportunities within our communities are going to also be destroyed,” Guthrie said. “So now it’s up to the province, it’s up to the federal government.”

The OBCM also called on the provincial and federal governments to introduce legislation addressing illicit drug use in public spaces, which they say has compromised public safety and affected businesses. They said one of the challenges they face in tackling open drug use is the lack of facilities to provide care to those with addictions.

Morgan said the OBCM’s stance on open drug use should not be taken as a mere call to end it, but as a way to manage the adverse effects it has had on the community. “Those impacts are real. They are genuine. They are felt, and they are holding our communities back,” he said. “When we help the most vulnerable communities with proper pathways, we solve that problem with everybody.”

Municipal leaders also asked the province to review and update the Trespass to Property Act to help communities address “aggressive and repetitive” trespass behaviour.