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Dear colleagues and media, I wish to move the following at council on Wednesday, May 9th. Councillor Merulla has assisted and will second...
Motion: Request for hospital space to address the current opioid (and other drug) overdose crisis in Hamilton
Whereas; The Federal Government has granted permission for supervised consumption sites in order to address the current crisis respecting opioid (and other) drug addictions
Whereas; The Province of Ontario is accepting applications for overdose prevention sites from across the Province and the City of Hamilton
Whereas; Council, on the 8th of December, 2017 approved the recommendations respecting Supervised Injection Sites in report BOH17004(b)
Whereas; Since Council's approval, the Province has approved the process of granting SIS (and now OPS) sites in this and other Ontario cities
Whereas; Not withstanding the 75 deaths due to opioid overdoses in Hamilton from January to October 2017 and that this tragic statistic exceeds the Provincial average by 78 percent, local landlords appear to be reluctant in granting permission to outside organizations to house supervised consumption sites
Whereas; Provincially managed hospitals may be seen as the safest sites to operate supervised consumption sites
Therefore be it Resolved; That the appropriate staff from Public Health be requested as a priority to engage with both Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph's Hospital on the feasibility of housing a supervised consumption site in their hospital(s), as a means of addressing the opioid (and other drug) overdose crisis in Hamilton.
Friday, May 4, 2018
43 comments:
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Why not have it at Jurivinski? I hear a LOT of whingeing from some mountain citizens that the downtown is getting all the attention and money from council. Well lets share the wealth. The opioid and mental health crisis impacts ALL Hamiltonians from ALL areas of Hamilton. Lower, upper, east, west, old, new. Yet, once again, like always, the treatment centre for ALL of Hamilton goes in the core. Enough is enough.
ReplyDeleteTacitus
but then we would have to provide transport for these unfortunates from their dens in Corktown up the hill....added expense, unnecessary cost, doesn't make sense.
DeleteWe decide what we want, and we just push the balance over the edge.
It's nice up here, we're going to keep it that way.
More of the same.
Nero
"but then we would have to provide transport for these unfortunates from their dens in Corktown up the hill"
DeleteOpioid addiction isnt just limited to one area like Corktown. Drug addiction affects ALL people across ALL areas of Hamilton. Mountain included. That you think that drug addiction only affects people in certain areas shows how ignorant and out of touch you are.
Tacitus
citation please,proof?
DeleteOpioid addiction is mental health issue, and it is common knowledge Corktown is inordinately represented in this respect.
Sad really, these people need help.
Why make them travel in order to satisfy the selfish nimby-ism of someone lacking the courage of their convictions?
I mean really.
Nero
what a happy coincidence.
DeleteThe City's first overdose prevention site has a home....71 Rebecca St.
Led by Shelter Health Network, and supported by a coalition including Public Health, Good Shepherd Center, Wesley Urban Ministries, AIDS Network,Aboriginal Health Center., CMHA,and Hamilton EMS
"..it's right in the heart of the area we were looking at as a priority" chimed Ward 2 Councilor Farr.
An anonymous guy in a toga gives it the thumbs down.
Fair enough.
Nero
Nero proves a point. But its not his. Opioid addiction makes people poor. Doctor prescribes opiates. People get addicted. They lose their home. They end up on the street. But not the streets of councillor Skellys ward. Nope. Theres no help in councillor skellys ward for people from her ward. So they move to the core. They start on the mountain in councillor skellys ward, but they end up on the street of downtown to be cared for by Shelter Health Network, Good Shepard, Wesley, HAN, Aboriginal Health Centre. Groups run as not for profits or charities by social workers and volunteers for the poor. Cause thats the solution for Nero. Nero, contrary to any evidence says opioid addiction is limited to Corktown. Is the mountain "clean" before or after Nero and his neighbors "decide what we want, and we just push the balance over the edge"?
DeleteTacitus
Remember Nero? He fiddled while Rome burned. Apt choice for a screen handle Nero.
DeleteTacitus
service providers want it in the core
ReplyDeletehealth care professionals want it in the core
consumers want it in the core
politicians want it in the core.
some anonymous guy in a robe doesn't want it?
ok.
Status quo.
orangemike
All the different groups you list, as well as most citizens, know the opioid crisis is hurting people of all walks of life at all levels of society and that treatment is required everywhere. The majority and the status quo
ReplyDeleteThen theres the narrow minded, ignorant, tiny minority of people that thinks addiction only happens to a bad kind of person in a bad kind of area and all these bad people in the bad areas should stay there.
Tacitus
all of the different groups-as well as all citizens-want it in the core.
DeleteThen there is that other guy you reference.
Demi
"from extreme north to extreme south here in Ward 2, there wasn't a location where we didn't observe there's a problem"
ReplyDeleteSounds like a Pandemic.
Does Skelly have a similar problem at Sackville? Has anyone ever witnessed Jackson forced to pick up discarded sharp's at Bernie Arbour?
Of course not.
The problem is isolated.
"For anyone who thinks this safe injection site is a bad idea, maybe it's bad for business or their neighbourhoods....hopefully they will see this and get a sense that these unsafe injection sites have existed for some time in the very communities where Council has now almost unanimously agreed we need to do something"
Jason Farr, CBC Hamilton, 5/7/18
At least the "whingeing" from Ward 2 is kept in perspective.
Calgacus
"Does Skelly have a similar problem at Sackville?" Didnt know how much of her time and energy councillor Skelly was using to tackle this nationwide health crisis affecting people in her ward. So I searched. Only mention of Skelly and the national health crisis everyone is worried about and only found one result. Its when the councillor asks about addiction centres and crime.
Deletehttps://www.thespec.com/community-story/7980270-proponents-urge-support-for-hamilton-supervised-injection-site/
Some are focused on getting treatment for the people from ALL over Hamilton suffering from opioid addiction. Whats councillor Skelly doing?
Tacticus
supporting the initiative. On record.
DeleteNero
Supporting the initiative? She is running for Doug Ford who says he will kill any and all plans for supervised injection sites. But councillor Skelly say "yea" in regards to a site she has raised concerns about regarding crime or clients of the site affecting neighbours and you call that "supporting the initiative"?
DeleteTacitus
unh, yes.
Delete"Yea" means support.So we know where she stands-personally. And we know Ford's agenda is changing by the minute.
There you go.
Nero
Heres what the experts say:
ReplyDelete"One in eight Canadian adults says a family member or close friend has become "dependent on or addicted" to opioids in the last five years, an Angus Reid poll released on Thursday says.
One in five Canadian adults said they had personally been prescribed opioids in the last five years.
The findings counter perceptions that the opioid crisis is "a problem that's limited to marginalized people or poor people," Shachi Kurl, executive director of the Angus Reid Institute, told CBC News.
"It is really something that cuts across the entire spectrum of society, across, you know, different spectrums of the economy, of class, of education," Kurl said.
"This isn't a problem that [only] other people over there, across the street, on the other side of town are dealing with."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/opioid-crisis-canada-angus-reid-poll-1.4482981
Then theres the people that say only certain people in certain areas are addicts and good people in good areas arent addicts.
Some, like Nero, suggest "relocating" the people that are addicted on the mountain to the core.
"We decide what we want, and we just push the balance over the edge.
It's nice up here, we're going to keep it that way.
More of the same"
Nero"
Those are people with addiction issues that Nero wants to "push" into the core. Not a great way to help people or solve a major problem.
Tacitus
from today's edition of the Hamilton Spectator, quoting Dr. Jill Wiwcharuk, Medical Director of the Shelter Health Network.
Delete"...I can't think of a better place in Hamilton for this to happen"
That's what the expert thinks.
Nero
What exactly has councillor Skelly done to help the many people in her ward hurt by the opioid crisis? I didnt know so I searched. Found out councillor Skelly is very worried about drugs. Only its not the drug that is cuasing national health crisis and has been labled a epidemic or pandemic by various governmental agencies. Councillor Skelly is worried about pot.
ReplyDelete"Central Mountain Coun. Donna Skelly noted marijuana dispensaries are popping up across Hamilton and as of January there were some 58 of them, adding with recreational marijuana use expected to be legalized later this year, it puts the municipality and police in a difficult situation.
“All we can do as a municipality is go in and try and shut them down,” she said. “We fine the establishment and we often fine the property owner as well.”
Skelly advises residents who have issues with marijuana stores to file complaints with police.
“The more complaints that are filed, the higher up this goes on the police radar and the greater chance of it being dealt with,” she said"
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/8292628-group-concerned-about-pot-and-massage-businesses-on-hamilton-mountain/
Ok. She has time to try and shut down pot shops but zero time for opioid addiction.
Tacitus
that's some rather selective reading. From the Hamilton Spectator, 04/05/18
Delete"Concession Street Pot Shop Draws Protest"
"...Skelly said she had not received any complaints about the Concession Street shop and said she is open to the idea of the City licensing pot shops. She came away impressed with how professionally the business was being run"
"I was a lot more reassured that this isn't a dispensary that will be selling drugs to children for recreational purposes"
She made time to visit in order to have an informed opinion.
I like her style.
Nero
Councillor Skelly visits a pot shop on April 05th 2018 and says its nice.
DeleteCouncillor Skelly on March 1st says we need to shut pot shops down.
Is she too buzy giving conflicting opinions on the mostly settled issue of fairly harmless pot to do anything about opioids in her ward?
Tacitus
Informed opinion?
Delete"I was a lot more reassured that this isn't a dispensary that will be selling drugs to children for recreational purposes"
The police and city have been busting the pot shops fairly regular now.
Any verified reports about: "selling drugs to children for recreational purposes"?
None.
Sounds like she had made up her mind BEFORE the pot shop visit.
Tacitus
on a slightly more positive note, given her enormous lead in early polls, it is now becoming clear I won't have to worry myself over Councilor Skelly much longer, and can refocus my energy on "Transportation Minister Skelly"
DeleteGiven my disrespectful and relentless vituperation, I am certain to have her ear in any and all future deliberations on transit in this great City.
(Can she still block me?)
Tacitus
Coun. Skelly backed perennial leadership hopeful Christine Elliott, which is usually not seen as the kind of loyalty meriting reward. She also has zero experience in the legislature. Ministerial appointments tend to reflect shadow cabinet experience (that is, opposition critics, who know the portfolio best). Unfortunately for the PCs, that would be disgraced KW MPP Michael Harris, who has been replaced by Mike Harris Jr., the son of 407 salesman and former Premier Mike Harris.
DeleteMaximus
Skelly will deliver Hamilton, and that won't be ignored
DeleteFlavius
Deliver what, exactly? A totally new riding with a rural demographic that has generally identified as Conservative? Or just deliver a break from the proportionately smaller voter support she registered in 2011 and 2014 ADFW bids (she's no Chris Corrigan)?
DeleteRespectfully, Coun. Skelly has run for provincial office three times now. She has won exactly one nomination contest, and lost twice (despite actually living in her intended riding, which she doesn't now).
Look back to the Harris era: Lillian Ross was the first PC to be elected in Hamilton West in 24 years, and she went on to become a backbencher.
Lateralus
I cant really name one time Councillor Skelly has "delivered" for Hamilton to date. people like her. Shes vocal. But she has done very little in the way of leading or introducing motions at council. The public record reflects this but if people have some example that show otherwise im open.
DeleteAnd as little as two years ago she said she was through forever with provincial politics and she would never run provincially again and she was no longer a member of the PC party.
And Doug Ford has said he will cancel any and all supervised injection sites and toughen penalties for drug offenders so Im not sure how that squares with councillor Skellys support of supervised injection sites.
And yes she does seem to contradict herself on the issue of marijuana dispenseries.
But she has my vote cause Im sure she will deliver for Hamilton.
Flavius
"I rely on people like Donna Skelly, who know what the people want"
DeleteDoug Ford, CHML, 04/03/18
Maximus
"Let's look at one very quick fix, which could be adding bicycle racks to the front of a bus, and then including the bus on the access itself" - Donna Skelly, Nov 25, 2016
DeleteHSR Bike Rack Loading - Sep 17, 2007
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A1sBORwL2Q
Septimus
imagine, a Councilor who takes public transit to work every day....but doesn't consider herself HSR's greatest advocate, a title already reserved by her little friend in Ward 3
DeleteImagine.
Conservatus
LOL. You think councillors outside of Wards 1-3 take transit. Adorable… don't ever change.
DeleteHumorous
you think Councillors from Ward 1-3 are not responsible for the transit mess we currently endure.
DeleteOblivious. Time to make change.
Pathos
Three wards contain three council votes. Last I checked, voting majority is at least eight councillors in agreement.
DeleteI thought that was obvious, but maybe my tinfoil hat is in need of an upgrade.
Oblivious
“Mr. Harris took his 1995 election victory as a licence to effect sweeping change. He reduced taxes, overhauled the education system and (less successfully) the health system, and halved the welfare rolls. He took advantage of the boom times fuelled by U.S. expansion. Within a few years he had eliminated the annual deficit, even as he introduced corporate, capital-gains and personal tax cuts. Ontario still carries a heavy accumulated debt, but Mr. Harris deserves all credit for bringing fiscal responsibility to a province that had not known it for years.…
DeleteThe government also decided, reasonably, to hand local services to local governments. But the effect of its changes was to leave Toronto and other cities without the money they needed to handle their new responsibilities. The collapse of social housing has helped create a new generation of homeless people. The transit systems that make the cities work are crumbling for lack of funds.”
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/mike-harriss-legacy/article763723/
Commons
we have inmates in this community entrusted to our care who are overdosing with alarming regularity.
ReplyDeleteMayor Fred?
Nary a word. Fred don't care for those types.
Fred would rather focus on bicyclists.
At least they vote.
Tacitus
"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." - H. L. Mencken, January 1915
ReplyDeleteToronto Star, May 2018:
Even before he started making promises of billions in new spending and billions more in tax cuts, Ford had vowed he’d reduce the provincial budget by 4 per cent — another $6 billion — by finding “efficiencies throughout the system.”
So, at this point in the campaign, Ford is promising to simultaneously increase spending in some areas, reduce taxes and balance the budget, all without cutting jobs.
“Math is hard,” Ford said, in his release last week condemning Ontario’s math curriculum.
He’s not wrong about the first part: Math is hard.
He wants kids to go back to “basic math,” such as memorizing multiplication tables. There are plenty of reasons why the current “discovery math” curriculum, which requires kids to apply their basic math skills to problem solving, is better than the old rote learning system.
There aren’t any reasons, however, why Ford and his campaign can’t go back to basic math.
That means when he announces a new tax cut, as he did last Thursday, Ford (or, at the very least, the party’s finance specialist), could answer questions about how it will work.
When Ford and MPP Vic Fedeli, who has been the party’s finance critic since 2013, announced a middle income tax credit, they seemed to have no trouble saying that it would be worth up to $786. But they couldn’t say what it would be worth to earners at the lower $43,000 income level.
It was left to an economist to do the math: the tax break will mean an average of $7 for Ontarians with incomes below $49,000.
“We have a solid platform that is fully costed,” Ford told reporters in March.
It’s the middle of May now and, instead of a platform, all Ontarians have been getting is a disjointed set of announcements with variations of Ford’s folksy “I’m there for the little guy” promise.
It’s long past time for the Ford to provide a clear picture of what he plans to do if elected and how he’ll pay for it.
That’s math voters deserve to see before they cast their ballots.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2018/05/13/ford-wants-kids-to-learn-basic-math-his-campaign-promises-suggest-he-should.html
Incredulous
you don't understand accrual accounting
DeleteUncle Teddy
"accrual accounting" is an alliterative way of saying "deficit spending". the province still ends up hundreds of billions in the hole, and our grandkids still keep saddled with the bill.
Deleteeither way, the fact that ford is being cute with math suggests he will be as bad or worse as the party he seeks to replace. and/or he believes his base to be innumerate rubes.
Lord Humungus
"accrual accounting" is Liberal slang for "boondoggle"
DeleteDoug says "we'll take that billion they had earmarked for something they do not want, and let them do what they will with it."
Bam. Presto. Chango.
It's that easy to win a majority in Ontario. Let the people decide.
Plenty of rubes in my town.
Little Lord Fauntleroy
only Fred and Ted could make Doug a viable, reasonable consideration.
DeleteOnly Andrea, Monique, and Paul could ensure an inevitable blue tide which will change the landscape for generations.
Put your seatbelt on, grab your popcorn, things are about to get a little bumpy.
HH Jellybelly
Love seeing Ford Nationals show their colours. So stale, so pale, so male. So worried.
DeleteIf Hamilton severs its NDP loyalties, back-of-napkin plutocrats will bury organized labour in this province like a half-finished subway. But don't get tumescent too soon: Harris couldn't manage to sweep Hamilton with a "blue tide", and he had five years to grow into his role as party leader.
Ferrovial S.A.
Local ridings and number of years represented by party, post-1974 amalgamation?
Delete1975-2007 Hamilton West + 2007-2018 Hamilton Centre: ONDP 28, OLP 11, PCPO 4
1975-1999 Wentworth North + 1999-2007 ADFA + 2007-2018 ADFW: OLP 32, PCPO 8, ONDP 5
1977-2018 Hamilton Mountain: ONDP 25, OLP 12, PCPO 4
1975-2007 Hamilton East + 1999-2007 Stoney Creek + 2007-2018 HESC: ONDP 32, OLP 13, PCPO 4
Mimi
according to data released this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research, residents of central Hamilton are fit to be tied.
ReplyDelete"...the unhappiest community of all is a stretch of Hamilton Ont." Globe and Mail 4/20/18
No kidding.
Disgruntled, fed up,...and hopped up. Lets show these losers some compassion.
Good work Jason
Peewee
4/20? Turn that frown upside down!
DeleteOpeechee