Statement On Closure of Supervised Consumption Sites

March 25, 2026

Fife House is deeply concerned by the Ontario government’s decision to close supervised consumption sites at a time when communities are facing an escalating toxic drug crisis.

Fife House Statement on the Closure of Supervised Consumption Sites

Fife House is deeply concerned by the Ontario government’s decision to close supervised consumption sites at a time when communities are facing an escalating toxic drug crisis. The evidence is clear: supervised consumption sites save lives, reduce overdose deaths, and at the same time, connect people to essential health and social supports. They are a proven, evidence-based harm reduction tool that improves—not compromises—community safety.

Closing these sites will not stop substance use. Instead, it will push people into more dangerous, isolated environments, increasing the risk of fatal overdoses and placing additional strain on emergency services and the broader healthcare system. It will also disproportionately impact people already facing marginalization, including those experiencing homelessness and poverty.

Supervised consumption services are a critical entry point to care—building trust, preventing disease transmission, and supporting pathways to treatment, housing, health management, and recovery. Removing them without fully implemented alternatives creates dangerous gaps in care that will cost lives.

We join partners, communities, and organizations across Ontario in calling on the provincial government to reconsider this decision and to work collaboratively with communities, service providers, and people with lived experience to strengthen a compassionate, evidence-based public health response.

Fife House is a member of the Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness (TAEH), the Toronto Shelter Network (TSN), the Ontario AIDS Network (OAN), and the Shelter and Support Board Advocacy Coalition (SSBAC).