Evidence-based solutions, not criminalization and coercive treatment, community groups say in response to Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre asking the province to use the despite clause in substance abuse and homelessness
Applying the no-holds-barred clause to address substance abuse and homelessness risks doing far more harm than good, community groups say in response to Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre’s recent request from the province along with 12 other mayors.
Outreach and Public Health Sudbury and District advocates for evidence-based solutions, not criminalization and coercive treatment.
Lefebvre recently joined 12 other Ontario mayors in writing a letter asking the province to use the notwithstanding clause to dismantle homeless encampments, increase capacity for mandatory addiction treatment and increase reliance on incarceration.
See: Mayor asks Ford to take action against camps
Groups like Public Health Sudbury and District (PHSD) and Réseau ACCESS Networkthe Coalition for a Vibrant Sudbury, SWANS (Sex Workers Advisory Network Sudbury) and others have all expressed to Sudbury.com that the mayor’s proposed ways of dealing with the homelessness and substance abuse crisis — through mandatory treatment and limits on court-backed human rights — are not only ineffective, but the proven solutions to these problems are already available, they just require funding .
Evidence-based solutions that the city council approved Roadmap to end homelessness by 2030as well as the strategy for the City of Greater Sudbury Encampment.
On November 1, Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre, along with 12 other mayors, sent a letterprepared at Prime Minister Doug Ford’s invitationwhich requests more municipal power from the province to manage homeless encampments, including the province adopting notwithstanding the clausewhich prevents a court from declaring legislation to be of no force or effect when it is inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Lefebvre was the only Northern Ontario mayor to sign the letter.
Among requests for a “drug and diversion court system” and clearer legislation on open drug use – a request to make the ban similar to open consumption of alcohol – the key points of advocacy in the 13 mayors’ open letter are asking the province to use the disregard clause for to overturn court cases that limit “municipalities’ ability to regulate and prohibit encampments,” or dictate homelessness policies.
They are also asking the province to strengthen a system of mandatory community-based mental health and residential care and expand services to treat those with serious and debilitating addictions and to amend the Trespass to Property Act to include a separate provision for repeat trespassing, the penalty for which should include a time of imprisonment.
Heidi Eisenhauer, executive director of the Réseau ACCESS Network, told Sudbury.com that as a harm reductionist, she has “significant concerns” about several proposals in the letter.
“While I share the mayors’ desire to address our communities’ mental health, substance abuse treatment and homelessness/housing shortage challenges, the proposed measures risk doing more harm than good,” she said.
Eisenhauer said evidence clearly shows that criminalization and coercive treatment methods do not work. “Research from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and St. Michael’s Hospital shows that punitive measures, including arresting people for trespassing or general drug use, only push people further away from getting help and increase the risk of overdose deaths,” she said.
PHSD and the Community Drug Strategy, which is made up of 60 agencies across Sudbury, point to what was learned at the Greater Sudbury Summit on Toxic Drugs, will be arranged on 7 and 8 December. The summit was co-hosted by the Strategy and the City of Greater Sudbury.
“At the summit we looked at the evidence of what has worked elsewhere, whether in the areas of health promotion, inclusive social support including increased access to affordable housing and substance abuse care including increased access to treatment and harm reduction,” it says in a statement sent to Sudbury.com. “The Community Drugs Strategy remains committed to following the Summit’s recommendations.”
They included examples of evidence-based solutions, such as preparedness-based treatment: “Addiction treatment experts around the world note that a critical ingredient for success is readiness for change. When people are forced into treatment against their will, it is unlikely to succeed.”
They also talk about addressing and reducing prejudice. “Programs that address mental health, substance abuse or homelessness that reduce stigma against people experiencing these issues encourage them to seek help,” PHSD said. “Stigmating those suffering from mental health, substance abuse, or homelessness through words, like negative rhetoric, or actions, like law enforcement, perpetuates the problems we hope to solve.”
They also offer a model discussed at the summit, the Icelandic Prevention Model, which they describe as “Iceland’s experience in reversing a growing drug problem” through early involvement with young people by parents, teachers, sports centers and the community.
“The City of Greater Sudbury and its mayor are enthusiastic partners as we work across the community to bring this model here,” the statement said.
PHSD also points to Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, and his annual report for 2023.
In it, he recommends an all-of-society, evidence-based approach to reducing addiction harm. “This includes building stronger communities through initiatives such as the Icelandic Prevention Model and Housing First; building stronger families through Healthy Infants, Healthy Children and Adolescent Health Centers; maintain and expand harm reduction policies and services; and provides prompt, accessible treatment services,” the PHSD statement told Sudbury.com. “This fits well with where the Community drug strategy is focused.”
Réseau’s Eisenhauer said that instead of using the despite clause “to limit rights,” policy should focus on: expanding Housing First programs, which have proven highly successful in breaking the cycle of homelessness and incarceration; increased investment in affordable housing and rent allowances; strengthen housing stabilization funds to prevent homelessness; and supporting and expanding harm reduction services “that save lives every day.”
She also believes that Greater Sudbury and the area “absolutely need an expansion of services”, but that these services must be voluntary and person-centred, trauma-informed, integrated with housing supports and developed with input from people with lived experience.
Eisenhauer also adds that the proposal to ban general drug use, similar to alcohol regulations, “fails to recognize that substance use disorder is a health condition, not a choice. This approach would likely increase the number of overdose deaths by forcing people to use alone in unsafe conditions, says she.
Eisenhauer and Réseau ACCESS Network also added their signatures to a letter circulated to community groups by Black Lives Matter Sudbury, addressed to the mayor and copied to council members.
The letter states that “seeking the override of the judicial authority through the notwithstanding clause” sets a troubling precedent for the city.
“This action would remove essential protections under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which rightly prioritize the rights and safety of individuals living in camps,” the letter says. “While the complexities of homelessness and addiction require urgent attention, resorting to tools that bypass basic civil liberties can harm the most vulnerable members of our community rather than offer them the structured, compassionate care they need.”
The undersigned believe that invoking this clause directly contradicts The municipal council’s motion was adopted on 13 August 2024, “committed to exploring comprehensive solutions to homelessness that prioritize the dignity and rights of all residents.”
“This motion reflects our society’s values and the understanding that effective solutions require cooperation and respect for human rights, not actions that undermine them,” the letter said. “Council’s resolution to approach the homelessness crisis with compassion and systemic change should guide our actions moving forward.”
The letter is signed by Black Lives Matter – SudburyRéseau ACCESS Network, Fierté Laurentian Pride, the Indigenous Students Circle at the Sudbury Campus of Laurentian Universitythe Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy CenterCoalition for a Liveable Sudbury, SWANS (Sex Workers Advisory Network Sudbury) and several others.
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized communities for Sudbury.com.
