July 12, 2019
Kawartha Now
Consumption and treatment site in City of Peterborough urged as one solution to overdose crisis
Article Highlights:
Jointly organized and hosted by Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien and Selwyn Deputy-Mayor Sherry Senis and moderated by PARN executive director Kim Dolan, the event drew a standing-room-only crowd at the Market Hall.
Along with Bierk, the members of the panel were: Central East LIHN Opioid Strategy Implementation Group chair Paul McGary; Peterborough Medical Officer of Health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra; Whitepath Consulting and Counselling Services owner Peggy Shaughnessy; Peterborough Deputy Police Chief Tim Farquharson; Peterborough county-city paramedic Dan Farrow; Sally Carson, who lost a nephew to an overdose; and former addict TJ Russell.
Local politicians from all levels of government were in the audience. Along with several members of Peterborough city council, they included Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef, Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath, Ontario Associate Minister of Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith — all of whom spoke from the podium — and Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter.
“I’m going to take a lot of political heat being a Conservative and saying I’m standing behind Peterborough’s application for a CTS (consumption and treatment site). No matter what political stripe you are, this is something you cannot deny — every single person that overdosed and died was someone’s child.”- Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith
“It is a huge stereotype, and a pet peeve of mine, that opioid users are all homeless… we go to a lot of overdoses involving professionals making six figures. Only 14 per cent of our calls in the first six months (of 2019) were on the street or in alley or park. From January 1st to June 30th of this year, paramedics responded to 139 overdoses … up slightly from last year. However, more of the overdoses have died this year. Naloxone isn’t working all the time now, the drugs are so potent.” - Dan Farrow, Peterborough County-City Paramedics (PDS Partner)
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