Shooting outside Toronto safe consumption site sparks review of all Ontario sites, including Windsor

Safepoint safety implications After a tragic incident in Toronto, Safepoint advocates say problems haven’t plagued Windsor’s site.

The safe consumption and treatment site inside South Riverdale Health in Toronto has been at the centre of community concerns for months, a conversation that exploded onto a bigger stage when Caroline Huebler-Makurat was hit by a stray bullet steps away from the centre.

Huebler-Makurat later died due to the shooting, which happened on July 13, 2023.

Now, harm prevention sites like it across Ontario are going under the microscope.

"Following the tragic incident last month, the ministry launched a critical incident review of the sites, starting with South Riverdale Community Health Centre,” a ministry of health spokesperson said in a statement to CTV News Toronto. “We are extremely troubled by this latest development and reviewing what options are available to the government.”

Windsor has a safe consumption and treatment site, Safepoint, at 101 Wyandotte St. E. It opened in April of 2023 and has served dozens of clients during its brief tenure.

Safepoint Advocates say this type of trouble hasn’t plagued Windsor’s site.

“It is concerning to hear that there's a review being done of all the CTS sites just because of one incident,” said Kamryn Cusumano, who, along with a group of protesters, fought to ensure the Safepoint opened in the community. “I hope this doesn't give them a reason, or find any reason just to shut it down.”

“While it is a tragedy that this occurred, if a shooting happened outside of a bar, we wouldn't be calling into question all bars. If a shooting happened outside a convenience store, which they do, we wouldn't be calling into question all that,” said Bilal Nasser, who co-organized the rallies outside Windsor city hall over the winter to ensure the centre opened as soon as possible.

“The stigmatization of the sites that still occurs and it's still kind of a factor in how people think of these, when in reality, these are life saving essential medical services,” he said.

The minister of health’s office hasn’t said exactly what the review will entail.

“There's a reason why these centres are established, and that's to try and provide a safe place for people to really treat and address their addictions,” said Andrew Dowie, the PC MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh. “If there's a better way, a more effective way where someone can do that safely, then it warrants a look.”

At the same time, Windsor’s site has not yet received provincial funding.

Many expected it would come in July and in the meantime, the City of Windsor is funding the operation.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit runs the site.

"We are in regular contact with the provincial ministry and have received no indication that incidents in other municipalities would have an impact on the SafePoint approval process,” said health unit director of programs Eric Nadalin.

Dowie told CTV News he’s advocating for that funding from the province to be approved as soon as possible, despite the review.

“This has been identified as a local priority for us,” Dowie said, noting a handful of other communities are also awaiting funding. “I am advocating for that service to be funded for community because it has been identified by our municipal councils and by the health unit as the most reasonable way of addressing this issue in our community.”