Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones is at odds with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over recent comments he made that he was “open” to the idea of forced treatment for people dealing with drug addictions amid Canada’s growing opioid crisis.
“I have concerns that involuntary treatment would not lead to the outcomes that we want,” Jones told reporters at Mount Sinai Hospital on Wednesday.
“But having said that, when we see the opportunity and the need for intervention, and people are willing to take on those treatments to make a difference, that’s when we can show them our government is committed.”
Jones was asked about involuntary treatment in response to comments made by Poilievre in London, Ont. last week in response to a question from True North.
Poilievre said he was “open” to the idea but that he would need to see more evidence of its effectiveness first.
“I don’t know if you can take someone off the street that has not committed a prison offence and successfully rehabilitate them. If we can, I’m open to it, but I’d need to see more evidence at this point,”said Poilevre.
“I need to study it more. I need to understand how it would work. I want everybody who’s on drugs to be in treatment and rehab to get off drugs. What I haven’t been able to figure out is, if someone doesn’t want to be rehabilitated, can you require them to be?”
Poilievre made the comments during a press conference to decry the utility of safe supply cites in a public park that was located close to a so-called safe injection location.
He pledged to cut federal funding to safe supply programs if elected and accused them of ultimately causing an increase in addictions and opioid-related deaths.
Jones said that Ontario has a new addictions plan of which “treatment is a very large portion” with “an additional 500 treatment beds” but also one that it may involve “other access to treatments that are not always as highly interventionist.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford froze approvals of supervised drug consumption sites last fall, following the death of a 44-year-old mother who was killed by a stray bullet fired during an altercation at the South Riverdale Community Health Centre in Toronto.
However, the premier recently said that he would “fight like a pitbull” for Ontario should the federal Conservatives act against the province if elected next fall.