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Safe beds reopen in Timmins

CAO says ideally there would be six to eight available
2020-06-09 City hall MH
Timmins City Hall on Algonquin Boulevard. Maija Hoggett/TimminsToday

Since the end of October, two safe beds have reopened and more are on the way, according to Timmins CAO Dave Landers.

With the community experiencing an opiate crisis, Landers has given a regular community safety update to Timmins council since the summer. 

Last month, Dr. Julie Samson and Dr. Louisa Marion-Bellemare talked about the staggeringly high rate of overdose deaths in the city and shared their vision on how to address it. One of the points they noted in their presentation is that there had been no access to safe beds this year.

At the Nov. 10 council meeting, Landers said the Jubilee Centre in Timmins has answered the call and focused on opening the safe beds. At the time of the meeting, two had been opened, and another was expected to open by the end of the week. Ideally, he said there would be six to eight available.

“At this point in time adding a couple of safe beds is critically important and speaking with the doctors earlier this week they told me that in their estimation opening the safe beds saved at least one life in our community already,” he said.

Landers said Northern Ontario mayors have also raised concerns over Bill C-75 and the "catch and release dilemma" to the provincial government. Timmins Police have an officer walking the beat downtown making direct connections with people and dealing with criminal activity as well, he said.

Late last week, Timmins Mayor George Pirie had a video call with Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Michael Tibollo.

“While every city is dealing with the opioid crisis in tandem with the COVID-19  pandemic, the situation in Timmins is somewhat unique given our region,” said Pirie in a news release. “I was able to discuss our situation with the Associate Minister who was receptive to our call for support. In fact, he is committed to come to our community to see  firsthand how the Government of Ontario can support the local solutions to these  issues.” 

At the council meeting, Landers noted the issues Timmins is facing are provincial and national in scope.

“The failure of other levels of government requires some level of municipal response that frankly, to a large degree, is outside of our ability to manage in the way that would solve issues upfront,” he said.

The next steps for council are the same as previous updates.

Landers said council must advocate to upper levels of government to make sure: policy decisions in relation to criminal activity and incarceration don't handcuff local police, that resources to address the opioid crisis are provided, that local addictions services system is responsive to immediate needs, that there is funding to establish culturally-appropriate Indigenous street outreach, and that the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board receives fair funding to address homelessness.