Ontario’s Ford Defends Consumption Site Closures, Calls Facilities the ‘Worst Thing’ to Happen to Communities

Ontario Premier Doug Ford delivers remarks at Lakeshore Collegiate Institute in Toronto, on Aug. 31, 2023. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby

Premier Doug Ford is defending his government’s decision to close nearly half of Ontario’s 23 supervised drug consumption facilities, calling them “the worst thing that could ever happen to a community.”

The province earlier this week announced its plan to ban supervised drug consumption sites from operating within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres. The ban means 10 of the 23 sites will close by March 31, 2025.