Sudbury mayor says 'more collaboration' needed to move city through opioid and homelessness crisis

The mayor of Greater Sudbury is assuring the community that work is ongoing to address addiction and homelessness, but Paul Lefebvre said higher levels of government need to step in to assist.

Over the weekend, Lefebvre issued an op-ed, updating the community on the progress being made on the opioid crisis.

"I think we're getting often a lot of comments saying 'You guys are doing nothing,' and there's lots of efforts that have been happening," he said.

"Just not from the city's perspective, but a lot of key partners throughout the forefront of helping our most vulnerable population."

Lefebvre said he wants to be honest with the community that this hasn't been an easy file to work on at city hall. 

"We're putting more resources than we ever have addressing this," he said.

"But the more that we do, it's not as if the problem has reduced. It hasn't gone away and it won't go away."

Lefebvre said that in the last year, Greater Sudbury has spent $50 million into homelessness and housing programs, with $30 million coming directly from the municipal taxpayers. 

He pointed to other projects, including building affordable seniors' housing on Sparks Street in New Sudbury, the creation of a local Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment hub as well as expanding shelter capacity and outreach services.

Despite those efforts, Lefevbre said more help is needed. He said Greater Sudbury's opioid-related death rate remains twice the provincial average and accidental overdose is the leading cause of death among people 49 years of age and younger.

"We need to all move a city forward together," he said.

"We need to work together in more collaboration to ensure that people that are trying to get services are."

Drugs getting 'more and more toxic'

An advocacy group in the city agrees the provincial and federal governments need to help out more on the streets of Sudbury.

Kaela Pelland, manager of engagement at Réseau Access Network, said there's been a gap in services since the shutdown of the supervised drug consumption site, as well as the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth. 

"I think the loss of the supervised consumption services in Sudbury may also be playing a role with the increase in hospital visits in regards to toxic drugs," she said. 

"I think it really shows how the drugs are getting more and more toxic and how all the drug interactions and changes in the drug supply, it seems it's expanding and getting worse."

She's hopeful the mayor's honesty on this might attract more federal and provincial funding for Greater Sudbury. 

"In my opinion, the way that things have been done regarding the toxic drug supply … they have not been working," Pelland said.

"I think the best way forward to to collaboratively come up with something innovative. Northern Ontario is unique when it comes to our landscape and our current resources and our funding and just how things are spread out geographically. So I think it's really important the north collaborate."