Scarpitti confirms there is no need for safe injection sites in Markham

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 26, 2016
By Amanda Persico

There are no proposals and there's no need for safe drug injection sites in Markham or in York Region.

That was the message behind a special media conference held by the city Tuesday morning.

The conference was in response to a letter Markham-Unionville MP Bob Saroya sent to certain Markham councillors as well as to members of the Chinese media about needle injection sites.

The letter also prompted the city to invite Saroya to a future council meeting to discuss the safe injection site process.

The letter implied a safe injection site in Markham would be imminent.

“This misinformation was repeated through conversations and through social media,” said Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who stood together with other members of council.

“That letter, and the reporting by the media, has left many residents of Markham thinking that a safe injection site might be located in Markham.

“That is simply not true.”

Scarpitti went on to call Saroya’s letter and the lack of facts a fear-mongering tactic targeting Markham’s Chinese and Asian communities.

“I’m upset and disappointed that (Saroya) is using Markham council and the Chinese community as a pawn to advance his political opinion,” Scarpitti said. “He is taking advantage of the language barrier and of those who don’t know the process.”

In response to Scarpitti’s comments, Saroya called on the city to act on behalf of its residents and not on behalf of the current Liberal government.

“The mayor should stop being a puppet of the Liberal ministers from Markham and start acting in the best interest of the residents of Markham, who are opposed to ‘safe’ injection sites opening in their community,” Saroya said in an email to the Economist & Sun.

“Markham council does not report to (Saroya),” Scarpitti said during the media conference. “Markham does not play politics when it comes to what’s best for Markham residents. We applaud when it’s good. And we stand up when we think it’s not good, no matter what political stripe.”

The back-and-forth between Scarpitti and Saroya continued on social media following the conference.

“Markham council approved a mobile ‘safe’ injection site,” Saroya tweeted. “What is to stop @FrankScarpitti from opening a bricks and mortar location?”

His tweet was accompanied by a photograph of the region’s LOFT Crosslinks Street Outreach Van, which is not a mobile safe injection site.

According to York Region Public Health, the van provides support and supplies such as sleeping bags, blankets and other basic supplies to homeless people living on the street.

The outreach van also serves as a mobile needle exchange site.

In response, Scarpitti tweeted back “@BobSaroya just misled public again,” adding the van is “absolutely NOT a safe injection site.”

The region has several confidential needle exchange sites that provide drug users with sterile equipment such as needles, syringes, sterile water, cookers and filters to help reduce the sharing and reusing of needles that may result in blood-borne infections.

Needle exchange services also provide safe disposal of used needles, reducing the number of needles found in public places such as parks and parking lots.

“You don’t want those in your backyard or in parks,” said Jeannette Chronopoulos, a retired pharmacist from Richmond Hill who was at the conference.

“Kids can pick up those needles and poke themselves. They can get hepatitis, HIV or a million-and-one other things.”

Needle exchange services are provided at sexual health clinics in Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Vaughan.

“What’s so scary about safe disposal of these injection needles,” she added.

The federal government approves proposals for safe injection sites (SIS) - also known as supervised consumption sites - but not the exact location.

SIS locations provide drug-users with a clean, safe space and clean supplies to use drugs under the supervision of a health care professional.

The previous Conservative government outlined a strict criteria for SIS locations, where municipalities or public health organizations must seek an exemption from federal legislation, Scarpitti explained.

There is an elaborate process involved and the first step is identifying a strong need and a large number of drug users in the area, followed by an extensive public consultation requirement, said York Region’s associate medical officer, Dr. Richard Gould.

“There are no plans from (York Region) public health, which would take the lead,” he said. “I’m not sure where this came from.”

The process calls for about two dozen requirements, including a long list of approvals and opinions from the province, public health, the municipality, police and professional colleges prior to federal approval.

Earlier this year, Federal Minister Jane Philpott announced Health Canada would review the process and remove any unnecessary barriers in allowing SIS locations throughout the country as part of a harm-reduction strategy.

Philpott confirmed there is no intention to establish a SIS location in Markham.

“Drug use is a very serious problem in other places such as Vancouver, which has escalating numbers,” she said in an interview with the Economist & Sun. “But Markham is not one of those communities. The issue has not been raised by public health or by local police.”

“Stoking the fears of the community is irresponsible,” she said of Saroya’s initial letter and subsequent tweets.

She also commended the mayor for setting the record straight on the SIS process.

“Health Canada does not go out of the way to initiate the process,” she added. “Our role is to respond to an application where there is an absolute need. We want to ensure communities have the resources to meet all the health needs in a community.”