Concerns surrounding a safe-consumption drug site in Toronto's Leslieville neighbourhood have resurfaced once again, after a parking lot outside a local childcare facility was recently littered with drug use supplies. 

Pictures taken outside of the daycare, located near Queen Street East and Carlaw Avenue, appear to show tourniquets, cotton swabs, and needles on the ground.

Last week, images quickly began to circulate on a local community Facebook page, as well as between concerned parents of children who attend the facility. 

Urban designer and partner at Sajecki Planning, Blair Scorgie, is one of those parents, and says similar instances have been an ongoing issue in the vicinity of this childcare facility, and throughout portions of Leslieville for several years. 

This is my son's childcare facility. Needles litter the rear of the property and the edge of the municipal sidewalk. In a related incident, a nearby storefront was vandalized yesterday evening. We are facing increasing drug use, violence and vandalism in Leslieville. #topoli pic.twitter.com/rzaz6LH64J

— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) January 12, 2024

"Supervised Injection Sites are designed to improve health outcomes for people using drugs by providing trained healthcare professionals on-site. They have been shown to prevent overdose deaths, and reduce the spread of infectious diseases. They also allow users to connect with other healthcare and social services," Scorgie told blogTO. 

The safe-consumption drug site in question is located at the South Riverdale Community Health Centre (SRCHC) at 955 Queen St. E., less than 200 metres away from the daycare. 

Here is a video of the scene easier today. This is absolutely ridiculous, @PaulaFletcherTO, @SRiverdaleCHC and @TPS55Div. Infants, toddlers and preschoolers play in this space every day. #topoli pic.twitter.com/U2b43C76hA

— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) January 13, 2024

"These facilities provide an important function, and need to be located in areas that are central and accessible by public transit. Leslieville has seen an influx of families with young children over the last several years. This area, in particular, has seen an increase in enrollment at nearby elementary schools and in the number of nearby childcare facilities. Unfortunately, this is beginning to cause tension," he explained. 

While a range of perspectives have been provided regarding the source of the needles, the individuals involved, and what can meaningfully be done in response, Scorgie says he has offered a number of potential solutions based on crime prevention through environmental design principles. 

This is what 13 years of austerity budgets looks like. This is what a society that prioritizes policing over community services looks like. This is what a public health crisis looks like. This is what a housing crisis looks like.

— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) January 13, 2024

Scorgie also says he has spoken with local Councillor Paula Fletcher, who has agreed to coordinate a meeting with the owner of the childcare facility and the Community Safety Officer at 55 Division. 

"The City needs to assume responsibility for the identification and removal of needles, in the vicinity of facilities offering Supervised Injection Sites, and in neighbourhoods where a chronic issue has been identified," he told blogTO. 

If this doesn't serve as a wake-up call, and a clear indication that we need to get our priorities in order, I don't know what does.

— Blair Scorgie (@BlairScorgie) January 13, 2024

"In doing so, priority should be given to lands within and surrounding elementary and secondary schools, as well as childcare facilities. This is consistent with the approach taken in other jurisdictions across Canada."  

Concerns regarding the neighbourhood safe-consumption drug site reached a peak on July 7, 2023, when 44-year-old mother of two, Karolina Huebner-Makurat, was fatally shot by a stray bullet after an altercation ensued between three men in the area. 

Shortly after, Ontario's Ministry of Health launched a "critical incident review" of supervised consumption centres in the province.

In the aftermath of the shooting, much of the criticism was aimed at the SRCHC, which was steps away from where the shooting took place. The safe injection site first opened in 2017 as the federal government responded to the country's growing opioid crisis. 

People blaming safe injection site for deadly shooting in Toronto neighbourhood https://t.co/HvIM91YNiI #Toronto

— blogTO (@blogTO) July 10, 2023

As a result, dozens of local residents participated in a town hall meeting in July, where they presented community-gathered data to the health centre. Submitted reports included over 350 incidents, which showed drug paraphernalia on the ground, fighting, as well as drug selling. 

In October, Ontario's associate minister of mental health and addictions, Michael Tibollo, confirmed that the province paused approving new supervised consumption and treatment sites while a review was underway. 

At the time, Tibollo said that the province was not looking at shutting down any of the province's supervised consumption and treatment sites, but rather trying to create a system that provides low-barrier access to those who need help while also balancing public safety. 

"This is the manifestation of a public health and full-spectrum housing crisis, playing out in real-time across the City of Toronto," Scorgie told blogTO. 

"We cannot meaningfully address drug use, without also addressing these challenges​​​​​​."