Harm reduction advocates say the Ford government’s decision to end funding for all supervised consumption sites later this year is “wrong” and “cowardly” and will lead to many more overdose deaths.

The Fred Victor Centre and South Riverdale Community Health Centre – the last two provincially funded sites in Toronto – were informed by the Ontario Ministry of Health on Friday that it would no longer be providing them with provincial funds as of June 13.

A letter sent to both Toronto sites says they have until April 10 to provide a wind-down plan as well as strategies to transition clients to other community-based treatment and recovery supports.

“This decision reflects Ontario’s commitment to prioritizing treatment, recovery and supports that help individuals move toward long-term stability while protecting Ontario communities,” the letter says.

The ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

People will die

A spokesperson at the South Riverdale location, which operates at 134 Sherbourne Street, told CityNews that staff and clients are “understandably devastated” by the news.

Keith Hambly, CEO of Fred Victor, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the decision.

“These services are a critical part of a compassionate and evidence-based response to the ongoing overdose crisis,” he said. “We hope the government will reinvest these significant funds into the community, to strengthen rather than dismantle the supports that help keep people alive.”

Janet Butler-McPhee, co-executive director of the HIV Legal Network in Toronto, says “people will die,” calling the province’s decision to defund the remaining sites a “cowardly move.”

“It seems that late on a Friday afternoon, when they thought no one was watching, Ontario is now forcing the closure of many of the remaining sites by pulling remaining provincial funding. While we don’t know further details at this point, we do know that people will die without access to the life-saving care they receive at these sites,” she said during a hastily called news conference late Friday.

“We are already in a devastating crisis that has been going on for more than a decade now,” said Zoe Dodd, a co-organizer of the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society, who called the province’s decision “absolutely appalling.”

“What the government is choosing to do today will cause deaths. We’ve seen a doubling of overdoses in the city of Toronto, we’ve seen the toxic drug supply change …and the government is removing the structures that keep people alive.”

The decision also affects publicly-funded sites in Ottawa, London, Kingston, St. Catharines and Peterborough.

The Neighbourhood Group in Kensington Market and Casey House are not affected by the provincial order as they are currently privately funded.

“I worry very much for street health and what’s going to happen on the east side of Toronto,” said Bill Sinclair with The Neighbourhood Group, who added the last three months have been the busiest they’ve seen since the closures of several sites in 2025.

“I’m very worried, I think this is a deadly decision, an irresponsible decision, and this is going to have terrible impacts on our city.”

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association said in a press release Friday that it “strongly condemns” the decision to defund consumption sites, calling it “misguided.”

“This is a moment that demands expanded, evidence-based supports — not reduced access to critical, lifesaving health-care services,” the association said. 

“We call on the Ontario government to reverse its decision to defund safe consumption sites and to uphold the safety, health, and dignity of all people, including those with addiction to substances.”

HART hubs are not real

In 2024, the Ford government banned consumption sites within 200 metres of a school or daycare, targeting 10 sites across the province for closure by the end of March 2025.

Most of those sites chose to convert to the province’s new abstinence-based model – homelessness and addiction recovery treatment, or HART, hubs – and closed. 

The government has also banned new consumption sites from opening altogether as it moves away from harm reduction to an abstinence-based model. The letter sent to Fred Victor Centre notes the province will spend nearly $550 million to open HART hubs across Ontario.

Sarah Evans with the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society is wary of the government’s approach to harm reduction to date.

“HART hubs are not real, they are not operational yet, and all of the things that the government promised do not exist yet,” she said. “What they’re actually doing here is leaving people to die.”