Police broke up a small group of protesters standing outside Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin’s constituency office on Mapleview Drive in the city's south end this morning.
The rally was their effort to try and save Ontario’s supervised consumption sites (SCS).
Khanjin's office was closed at the time.
A handful of police officers, along with two representatives of the property owner, ordered the group to leave the site.
Outside of a few heated verbal exchanges, mostly by a couple of the protesters, along with threats of arrest by officers, the event was peaceful.
The group packed up their signs and moved out to the side of the street on public property where they continued their speeches.
Thursday’s event was organized by Ryan’s Hope, Engage Barrie, Supervised Consumption Save Lives, Moms Stop The Harm, and The Canadian Drug Policy Coalition.
Armed with signs and speaking with the media outside Khanjin’s office, the group stated they were there calling on the Ontario government to immediately fund and support “life-saving supervised consumption services amidst the worsening toxic drug crisis.”
They were taking part in a “day of action,” touting provincewide support, with 73 groups endorsing an open letter to the Ministry of Health calling for emergency action. They say the ministry has not responded to the letter.
Back in October, Premier Doug Ford’s government announced it was planning to develop new safety protocols for what the province calls Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS), but generally referred to as SCS facilities, due to a shooting outside a Toronto site in July 2023.
This meant some SCS/CTS applications for new facilities waiting for provincial approval for more than two years — including Barrie’s — continue to wait.
The last term of Barrie city council (2018-22) endorsed a site near downtown Barrie at 11 Innisfil St. The local proposal also has federal approval to operate, a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act exemption from Health Canada that allows facility staff the ability to test and handle drugs without any criminal sanctions.
What it lacks, however, is provincial approval, which would include funding to cover operating costs, pay for its staff, equipment and maintenance.
Speakers taking part in Thursday's rally were Ashleigh Pineau, outreach and advocacy volunteer with Ryan’s Hope; Rev. Christine Nayler, co-founder and director with Ryan’s Hope, and Moms Stop The Harm Advocate; Jessica Potvin, a nurse practitioner and community outreach nurse; and Lori Schneider, peer Support volunteer with Ryan’s Hope.
Ryan’s Hope is a Barrie-based non-profit organization which advocates for and supports people living with mental illness, substance abuse issues and experiencing homelessness.
Nayler, whose son Ryan died in 2020, said the time for action is now.
“We are coming together to use our collective voices to say no more delays, no more stalling. People are dying. Delays equal deaths,” she said.
Nayler said Thursday's rally could help effect change.
“There’s nobody now that hasn’t been affected by this crisis," she said. "People want to use their voices and to see these deaths stop, but they don’t know what to do, so we are going to give people some concrete actions they can take to help move this along.”
The group moved their rally from Khanjin’s office to Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey’s office on Bell Farm Road in the city's north end.
No one challenged their presence there, as they set up outside the front door of the office, although two police cruisers were seen parked across the plaza from the rally and were observing the proceedings. Downey's office was closed and the window blinds pulled down.
The group also held a brief protest city hall before finishing their day at the proposed SCS site on Innisfil Street.
