Health Canada approves three safe injection sites in Toronto
TORONTO — Health Canada has approved three supervised injection sites in Toronto, and local officials expect they will be operational be the end of the year.
Necessary exemptions from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act have been granted for the clinics to operate, federal Health Minister Jane Philpott said Friday in a news release.
The sites will allow people to use illicit drugs under the supervision of a medical professional and will all be located in central Toronto.
Philpott said that Canadian and international evidence shows that supervised injection sites save lives without increasing drug use or crime in the surrounding area. They are part of the government’s approach to combating the current overdose epidemic, she said.