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For years, our members have been on the front lines of the devastating toxic drug crisis, made worse by a major gap in affordable, supportive housing units. 

We appreciate the federal government’s existing efforts to address some of these challenges through targeted programs, such as the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) and the Emergency Treatment Fund (ETF), as well as a commitment from Prime Minister Mark Carney to prioritize affordable housing. Prime Minister Carney was elected on a platform that includes a promise to establish the Build Canada Homes (BCH) to build affordable housing at scale, including on public lands, and to accelerate delivery through innovative, industrialized building, and to inject $10 billion in low-cost financing and capital for homes that support middle and low-income Canadians. We ask that the government follow through on these commitments to accessible, affordable housing, and we ask that the government continue to champion and fund vital life-saving services that ensure all Canadians are provided for as we build Canada.

# The Issue: 

The closure of consumption and treatment service (CTS) sites in Ontario has eliminated a critical entry point into the continuum of substance use, health and social care, without a comparable replacement. As a result, our members, made up of primary health care organizations across Ontario, are witnessing adverse community and public health impacts, including increased public drug use and heightened pressure on remaining sites. 

Further amplifying these community impacts is a lack of supportive housing units. Supportive housing units would not only provide tenants with a safe space to live, but also with access to the critical health and social services that can help marginalized people get back on their feet. Here’s what’s needed from the federal government to bring more supportive housing units into operation: increased capital for the construction of units; stable operating and base funding for ongoing service delivery and maintenance of the buildings; and access to suitable, well-located sites, including through unlocking public lands. These problems are not unique to any one province, and solving these issues requires significant collaboration between all levels of government. Federal leadership to help drive creative solutions forward will go a long way to help address a complex set of crises and ensure communities across Canada are safe and supportive for everyone.

# Why Supportive Housing Matters: 

Our members believe strongly in a Housing First model as the most effective and efficient method of care. It removes the most dangerous variable in primary care delivery -- unstable living conditions. A Housing First model also increases the likelihood that a person will continue to access care and treatment services over the long term. The Housing First approach provides permanent housing without sobriety or treatment preconditions and brings supports, including case management, primary and mentalhealth and addictions care, to people where they live. Studies show that adopting a house-first strategy, where housing is a prerequisite put in place to support recovery, not a reward for it, improves housing stability, quality of life and community engagement for residents. Stabilizing people first is the most effective way to make any treatment or harm-reduction plan stick. 

Housing First is also fiscally prudent, as studies indicate program costs are offset by a reduced strain on shelters, hospitals and emergency services. In short, Housing First turns chaotic survival into a platform for engagement, treatment, and safety, making it indispensable to Canada’s response to the toxic drug crisis

# Harm Reduction in the Continuum of Care: 

Harm reduction services are a core pillar of the continuum of care because they keep people alive and connected long enough to benefit from treatment and recovery supports. In Canada’s framework, the continuum explicitly includes harm reduction alongside treatment and recovery, recognizing services like supervised consumption, drug checking, and safer supply as evidence-based health care. Research shows supervised consumption services reduce overdose morbidity and mortality and improve access to addiction treatment. 

Harm reduction is the front door and safety net of the mental health system. It stabilizes people, reduces deaths and preventable disease, and builds trust, so more individuals can transition to and stay with treatments, counselling, and supportive housing. We need to ensure that future supportive housing developments explicitly integrate harm reduction strategies into their continuum of care, guaranteeing access for those in need, and contributing to their patients’ overall treatment journey.

# How The Federal Government Can Help: 

The federal government has recognized the severity of the toxic drug supply, addiction, housing and mental health crises and the pressure these intersecting issues put on governments, communities, and families. We want to work collaboratively to preserve vital services that are proven to save lives, reduce healthcare costs, and mitigate the transmission of communicable diseases. While we continue to work with the Ontario Ministry of Health to chart a path forward, we are looking for support from the federal government to help preserve vital services. We are asking the federal government to: 

1. Increase supportive housing development with vital harm reduction and treatment services in its core operations. Boosting funding for the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) is the most immediate and effective way for the federal government to help us meet Canada’s supportive housing needs. RHI accelerates the delivery of deeply affordable and supportive homes by funding projects that can be completed quickly, often through modular builds and hotel/office conversions, while offering grants that can cover most capital costs so nonprofits and Indigenous partners can actually build. It locks in long-term affordability through 20-plus-year covenants, which keep operating costs lower for residents, targets people with the greatest need, and has scaled quickly to tens of thousands of units nationwide. This is in direct alignment with your government’s platform promise to build faster, smarter, sustainable and more affordable homes. By injecting funds into a proven program, we can move quickly and efficiently to build the type of housing that will address the most acute causes for chronic homelessness. 

It also allows service providers to modernize and integrate vital service delivery within these developments to address the needs of the most vulnerable in our communities. We look to the new housing development at Dunn House in Toronto as an exemplary model for how Canada should roll out similar projects. 

2. Renew investment in the Emergency Treatment Fund (ETF) to help community stakeholders deliver life-saving addiction and overdose services. The Emergency Treatment Fund (ETF) is a federal program that has been profoundly beneficial for municipalities and Indigenous communities in directly addressing the ongoing toxic drug crisis. Several of our members have successfully presented proposals for funding through their respective municipalities for life-saving harm reduction and treatment services, such as safer supply, community outreach teams, cultural and trauma-informed education programs and care. 

This government is committed to protecting Canadian values, including every citizen’s right to access to public health care, where and when it’s needed. This rightfully must include critical mental health, substance-use supports and treatment options. We urge the federal government to continue to invest in the ETF program to support better access. 

3. Directly fund harm reduction services, including sterile needle distribution and supervised consumption, to save lives and prevent the spread of diseases. The bottom line is that life-saving harm reduction services are at risk across Ontario. The provincial government has chosen to close 10 supervised consumption sites, and we fear that more will be targeted in the coming years. The new HART Hub model has its merits for increasing treatment capacity and supportive housing. But it critically forbids harm reduction, which we know is an entry point for many people into the system. We need to ensure support for a complete continuum of care, and we’re looking to the federal government to directly fund these clinically proven strategies, such as sterile needle distribution and supervised consumption. 

We are grateful for the opportunity to submit our recommendation for consideration by the Department of Finance and look forward to future collaboration on these vital matters.