Cambridge councillors face a tough task - balancing public opinion against public good.
In the grand scheme of things, Wednesday's vote doesn't seem to amount to much more than a procedural issue but it's still certain to cause controversy.
On the table is 'Option 5' from a planning report presented to Council in mid-February which would designate a Consumption and Treatment Services site a public use.
In terms of what that actually means, passing the motion would mean a CTS site could go anywhere in the city including downtown Preston, Galt and Hespeler. However, because it's the one option that doesn't require any zoning changes or changes to the city's Official Plan, the report suggests it's also the one option that avoids the final decision potentially being made outside of Council.
"If we move forward with Option 5 we can then find a site within the city that we, as a Council, are comfortable with and then present it to the province," said Pam Wolf, Cambridge Ward 5 Councillor. "The other options actually could be appealed."
"The recommendation states that a CTS be permitted anywhere as a public use as described in the report," said Mike Mann, Cambridge Ward 3 Councillor. "And that further gives Cambridge Council the opportunity of support for a CTS application under the provincial program."
"Council will always have the opportunity to withhold support of a site application under the provincial program," Mann added.
But a CTS site - anywhere in Cambridge - has proven to be a hot potato. During the public consultation process, the planning report found an overwhelming majority of responses were against a CTS site anywhere in the city, not just in the cores. The report, however, also noted most of those responses seemed to presume CTS sites are simply a space to safely use drugs but, by law, they also have to offer wraparound services like mental health and addiction treatment supports.
"It is a sensitive issue and I think Council is very aware of how our community feels," said Mann. "We are torn by this so it's important that we make the right decisions moving forward."
"Whatever we do, we need to make sure members of our community have access to all the services that they need," he said. "Social service, housing, finance, health services, whatever it might be that they need there's nothing worse than having somebody come in to a facility and say 'I really want help to get off this' and say 'come back tomorrow' when you really want to be able to provide the services to that person right then and there."
"We've had far too many deaths and a CTS, no matter what your feelings about them, they do save lives," said Wolf.
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November 18, 2020 at 03:23AM
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Cambridge council set to decide on Consumption and Treatment Services option - KitchenerToday.com
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