The city's public health department says opioid-related deaths in Hamilton are expected to reach 100 this year.

That would eclipse last year's toll of 87 as an overdose crisis fuelled by fentanyl, heroin and crystal meth continues to grip the city.

"We're certainly not seeing a decline at this point; we're seeing an increase," Michelle Baird, a manager with public health, said Wednesday.

The grim forecast is based on preliminary data of suspected opioid-related deaths in the first six months of this year.

There were 60 deaths between January and June, compared to 47 during the same period last year, which is a 28 per cent increase.

Results from the first quarter of this year alone — 34 deaths — are just three shy of the 37 deaths for all of 2014.

The rest of 2018's data isn't yet available because of the time it takes the provincial coroner's office to finalize investigations.

However, Baird said the final figures usually result in a minor fluctuation from the preliminary data.

The latest snapshot comes as the operators of Hamilton's only supervised drug use service apply for government approvals to establish a permanent site.

In its first six months of operation, the temporary site at Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre reversed 23 overdoses amid more than 2,000 visits.

The Rebecca Street centre is seeking provincial approval to operate a permanent service, as the temporary arrangement is expiring at the end of January.

On Wednesday, city councillors gave unanimous support for Urban Core's application, which must be submitted to the province at the end of this month.

Ward councillor Jason Farr lauded the group's work to address "an urgent community need," but also its "impressive level of engagement" with neighbourhood residents.

"I would say on the whole, they have been embraced," he said. "Concerns (from residents) have been few and far between."

Farr said the city has not been asked to fund the effort so far.

The new Progressive Conservative government overhauled Ontario's system for supervised drug use sites after conducting a review of the previous Liberals' system.

The sites are now called Consumption and Treatment Services, with an emphasis on connections to primary health care, treatment, housing and social services.

This past summer, the province drew criticism for pausing the opening of several overdose prevention sites pending its review of their merits.

More recently, harm-reduction advocates have pushed back against the government's cap of 21 sites, potentially leaving hard-hit communities without services.

"This government is going in the exact opposite direction of what is required," Lisa Nussey, a member of a local group that offers support for drug users and loved ones, said Wednesday.

Nussey pointed to the moratorium on overdose-prevention sites, bureaucratic hurdles, the cancellation of Ontario's basic income pilot and social assistance reform. These changes, including other cuts such as to the Ontario Arts Council and Indigenous Culture Fund, will cause "ripple effects" on the opioid crisis, she said.

"Austerity drives people into despair, makes them vulnerable and longing for ways to cope," said Nussey on behalf of Keeping Six.

During his campaign, Premier Doug Ford said he was "dead against" supervised injection sites and noted he preferred an emphasis on treatment.

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This set an ominous outlook for proponents of the sites where trained medical staff oversee the use of powerful, illicit drugs, such as fentanyl.

In late October, the Tories introduced the new program after what Hayley Chazan, press secretary to Health Minister Christine Elliott, described as an "extensive evidence-based review."

"Our government's overriding priority is to ensure that all efforts to combat opioid addiction are designed to introduce people into rehabilitation and that those struggling with addiction get the help they need," Chazan said this week.

The operators of the Urban Core site, a partnership with the Shelter Health Network, say it has already proven a point of contact for other services. Supplies, such as clean needles and naloxone kits, are also available there.

The health centre plans to move to a new location on Cannon Street East next year, which is where the permanent supervised drug use service would operate.

In a letter to council, executive director Denise Brooks also noted the need for more harm-reduction services to help curb blood-borne infections such as hepatitis C.

Baird said the province hasn't told the city how long the application process will take but officials are aware of the urgency to avoid a gap in services.

"I know they're trying to expedite it as soon as possible."

tmoro@thespec.com

905-526-3264 | @TeviahMoro

— With files from Matthew Van Dongen

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