Ontario’s auditor general says the province’s opioid strategy, with its new abstinence-based model for treatment, is outdated and does not serve the current needs of the people.
Shelley Spence has released her first auditor general’s report since taking over the job in January.
Spence says the province needs to develop a new comprehensive strategy to deal with the opioid crisis as the current one has not been updated since 2016.
The auditor general says more than 2,600 Ontarians died last year due to overdoses, the vast majority due to opioid toxicity.
Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government has taken a hard line on drug-consumption sites, passing legislation that prohibits and closes any sites that are within 200 metres of a school or daycare, and effectively prohibits any new sites from opening.
In their place, the government is launching 19 new “homelessness and addiction recovery treatment hubs,” plus 375 highly supportive housing units at a planned cost of $378 million.