The ever-changing narrative: Supervised injection site policy making in Ontario, Canada

Original research
by
Ziegler, Bianca R., Alexander J.D. Wray & Isaac Luginaah

Release Date

2023

Geography

Canada

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

No

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

No

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

We analyze the ongoing debate surrounding supervised injection sites in Ontario, Canada and changing policies that impact host communities.

Findings/Key points

We find policy-makers tend to leverage scientific uncertainty as a tool to defend the interests of the most powerful actor in the subsystem. Despite an increase in the number of deaths due to the opioid crisis and evidence highlighting the efficacy of supervised injection sites as a harm reduction tool, various stakeholders are locked in a battle of claims and counter-claims about the appropriate policy response to opioids.

Design/methods

We describe the narratives constructed by advocacy coalitions from all three levels of government, law enforcement, health practitioners, and community groups, analyzing the supervised injection site model as a harm reduction strategy within a continually shifting socio-political landscape.

Keywords

SCS/OPS
Policy/Regulatory