Pro-drug activists are demanding Hamilton’s public libraries double as drug injection sites and local community members are outraged, warning that such a plan would risk the safety of children.
A petition signed by 115 anonymous “citizens of Hamilton” is demanding that the City Council erect “rudimentary” drug-injection sites near local libraries.
The facilities would be heated outdoor shelters — akin to bus stop structures.
The proposal further requests the so-called “safe drug consumption sites” be free of surveillance cameras, emphasizing that trained staff should be on-site to monitor activity and provide support. The suggested pilot locations include the Central, Barton, and Red Hill library branches.
Local responses to the petition have been largely negative.
In an email to city councillors titled, “Drug use in public,” local Patti Simpson Harrington asked, “I have just read that they are thinking of using libraries as a safe consumption site. What is wrong with this government?”
“Why is there even a thought to enable these people? Plus, there will be taxpayers’ money spent to have someone there as well? No cameras?” the emailer further questioned before concluding, “This world has totally gone backwards.”
In an April 29 email to the council, Martha Ronalds — a retired Hamilton public librarian — argued the library ought to be somewhere for “families, children, adults, grandparents, new Canadians and students” and a location “where drug consumption does not find a place.”
In another email to the council, local Renata Radikovic wrote that she wanted “to express deep concern regarding the proposed plan to convert public libraries into safe injection sites.”
“While I understand and support the importance of addressing the opioid crisis with compassion and urgency,” Redikovic continued, “I believe that utilizing public libraries for this purpose is not the appropriate solution.”
“Libraries serve as vital community hubs—welcoming spaces where children, students, and families come to learn, read, and grow. Introducing safe injection facilities into these environments could compromise the safety, comfort, and educational value that libraries have long provided,” she continued.
A self-described “concerned citizen,” Megan Lewis, further echoed Redikovic’s criticism of the proposal.
“The presence of drug use, even when supervised, may inadvertently expose young library users to potentially distressing situations and undermine the sense of security these spaces are meant to provide.”
Ward Two Councillor Cameron Kroetsch, meanwhile, took to social media to defend the placement of the petition on the public health committee agenda amidst the online backlash.
He explained that under new procedural rules, petitions from residents do not automatically get on a committee or council agenda—that they now have to be placed there at the request of a councillor.
“Since the Public Health Committee isn’t made up of all councillors, it made sense for me as Chair to ask that it be added to the agenda,” Kroetsch attempted to explain.