Pubdate: Tue, 22 Mar 2016
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.torontosun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Jenny Yuen
Page: 4

HEALTH BOARD 'ON CRACK:' COUNCILLOR

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti Says the 13 Members of the City's Health 
Board Must Be "On Crack."

His comment came after the board of health voted unanimously Monday 
to begin public consultation on creating three safe injection sites 
in existing harm reduction centres located in Leslieville, the 
Queen-Bathurst Sts. area and near Yonge-Dundas Square.

"The board of health is on crack and needs to stop giving themselves 
plush salaries," he said. "They should understand the proper place is 
in a hospital setting and not in a community.

"You're encouraging people to use illegal substances and they will 
die on our streets anyway," he added. "If anything, they're just 
jeopardizing the communities they're going to be in."

Community consultation will begin in neighbourhoods where the three 
proposed sites are located: The Works centre within the Toronto 
Public Health building on Victoria St., Queen West Central Toronto 
Community Health Centre, and the South Riverdale Community Health Centre.

People living in the rest of the city can weigh in via an online survey.

"In the summer of the gun, we lost 52 people ... we acted. (In 2014,) 
we lost 252 from overdose, we need to act," said health board member 
Joe Cressy, a city councillor who heads the Toronto drug strategy task force.

Councillor Joe Mihevc emphasized "this is the first step" in a long 
community consultation process.

The health board will make its final recommendation in July.

Any proposal to create the injection sites would also require city 
council approval, as well as an exemption from the federal government 
and funding from Queen's Park.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom