The province will keep funding existing overdose-prevention sites, but there won’t be any additional sites approved, says Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott.

A review of the sites has concluded that the existing model must shift from overdose prevention to also include a longer-term goal of helping drug users get treatment and rehabilitation services, Elliott said Monday.

“Our new delivery model would provide a pragmatic approach to overdose prevention, rooted in a relentless focus on getting people the help they need by connecting them to treatment,” Elliott said in a prepared statement by the ministry.

Elliott elaborated in a news conference. “We felt the previous government took some of the steps but really didn’t have that focus on rehabilitation and treatment that we think is necessary for people to be able to get the help that they need,” she said. “It’s one thing to save lives through overdose prevention, that is very important, but it’s also really important to make sure that people can connect with the services they need.”

Bhutila Karpoche, NDP critic for mental health and addictions, said in an interview that 252 people died unneccessarily over almost four months this year as the government studied the issue and froze funding to clinics.

“That’s not a very responsible thing to do,” NDP Leader Andrea Horwath told reporters at Queen’s Park. “The government put a pause on these sites, knowing full well that every expert out there said that it was the right thing to do.”

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“All for what?” Horwath asked. “For the purpose of rebranding something?”

Karpoche and Horwath called on the government to declare an opioid crisis.

“The opioid crisis is growing every year,” Karpoche said in an interview. “There are more and more places that are requesting to have these sites.”

Sites that were set to open this summer in Thunder Bay, St. Catharines and Toronto were put on hold for the government review, but can reopen if they successfully reapply.

The province is referring to the sites as Supervised Consumption Services and Overdose Prevention sites.

The minister said the province will approve no more than 21 overdose-prevention sites, and existing facilities can apply to continue to operate under the new model planned by the government.

“It’s an arbitrary cap that will lead to suffering and pain,” Horwath said, adding that the government should declare a crisis on opioid abuse.

Organizations would need to apply to provide treatment and rehabilitation services and be able to offer connections to health and social services, including day-to-day health care, mental health support, housing and employment, Elliott’s ministry said in the statement.

The announcement brought a mixed review from a spokesperson for the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society, who said many rural areas and smaller communities like Barrie, Guelph and Thunder Bay badly need overdose-prevention sites.

“Some of them have much higher rates of overdose,” Sarah Ovens of the prevention group said in an interview.

But “the existing sites will be able to continue to operate,” Ovens noted. “We’re very happy with that part of the announcement.

“It sounds like she really listened to people.”

The cap on new sites will hit First Nations communities in the North hard, Ovens said. “That’s a big disappointment for us.”

The Progressive Conservatives, who won a majority in the June 7 election, paused the planned openings of several sites this summer as they reviewed the future of the sites, a move that has drawn criticism from harm-prevention workers and many in the medical community.

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Overdose-prevention sites are temporary facilities approved by the province following a federal decision to grant an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Safe-injection sites, meanwhile, are more permanent locations approved by the federal government after a more extensive application process.

“We know that overdose-prevention sites on their own are not going to end this crisis,” Ovens said, adding she was pleased to hear the government will work to ensure there are no interruptions in existing service.

The Toronto Overdose Prevention Society will study details of the announcement.

“There’s a lot of details we don’t know about,” Ovens said. “We’re really going to want to get some clarity.”