Council Approves CTS Emergency Funding - Arts, Recreation and Community Policies Committee - 25 Apr 26

Kingston City Council held an emergency meeting on the province’s decision to end funding for the city’s Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site at the Integrated Care Hub (661 Montreal Street), effective Sept. 30, 2026. Delegates argued the closure will lead to preventable deaths and shift overdose response into public spaces. Council passed an amended motion that includes up to $350,000 in one-time funding for community harm-reduction initiatives, while emphasizing that the province—not the city—made the decision and that municipal powers are limited under provincial law. The province plans to replace the CTS with a HART hub (Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment hub), which delegates said will not provide the same services.

Topics Discussed

CTS Closure and Public Health Impacts

Delegates tied the funding cut directly to loss of life. Pamela Grey, co-founder of Threads of Hope Kingston, told council she asked three physicians—Dr. Russia Tuca, Dr. Adam Newman, and Dr. Henry Swoboda—what would happen if the CTS closes: “If we close the CTS, will people die. They answered, yes. This is not just a medical issue now, it’s a legal issue.”

Staff reported the CTS serves 246 unique individuals annually and sees about 20,000 visits per year. Staff also said “utilization intensity has been deemed to be intensifying in terms of the nature and the presentation of individuals seeking services.”

Replacement Concerns: What a HART Hub Won’t Provide

Delegates said the proposed HART hub will not replicate core CTS functions, including supervised consumption, needle exchange, and drug checking. Jill Ann Rothwell, representing Kingston Frontenac Public Library Workers, described how overdoses and intoxication are already showing up in public facilities: “We are not safe consumption sites. We don’t have the training, expertise or knowledge that is required to handle the complexities of the opioid crisis. The CTS does.”

Speakers also framed the issue as broader than individual choice. One delegate, Nika, told council that opioid exposure can begin through routine medical care: “the medications that in Kingston are prescribed when you have pain for something as common as shingles…are opioids… it’s really easy to just fall into addiction without knowing it.”

Municipal Jurisdiction and Legal Constraints

Council and staff repeatedly returned to what the city can and cannot do. One delegate summarized the legal barrier discussed during the meeting: “Municipalities are expressly prohibited under the community care and recovery act from supporting any application made to health Canada by any person for an exemption or renewal to the CDSA for the purposes of operating CTS.”

Councillor Ridge said the funding decision was not municipal: “The decision to remove the CTS funding was made by the province. It was not made by the city… as a municipality, we ourselves cannot fund CTS services.” Another speaker characterized the city’s limited authority more bluntly: “We have a parent-child relationship with the province.”

Commissioner Campbell told council the province has directed CTS funding “to be terminated, effective, the end of September,” and added that when CTS services are unfunded, Kingston Community Health Centres cannot continue them at that location “unless an alternate funding source is determined,” while also noting “It is not allowed by the municipality to be the alternate funding source to support those services.”

Emergency Funding for Community Organizations

Council approved up to $350,000 in one-time funding from the working fund reserve for community group pilot projects aimed at reducing public harm. The motion directs staff to develop a process to allocate funds to organizations including Feed the People, Threads of Hope, and the Peer Outreach Empowerment Team (POET).

Homelessness and Shelter Services at the Integrated Care Hub

Council also discussed homelessness pressures alongside the CTS decision. Commissioner Campbell confirmed the city’s $500,000 annual contribution for overnight rest and shelter spaces at the Integrated Care Hub will continue through March 2027, telling council: “There is no risk to those beds being removed at the end of September.”

Motions

Motion Two (as amended) — PASSED UNANIMOUSLY - Direct staff to work with Kingston Community Health Centres, Trellis HIV Community Care, Addiction and Mental Health Services, and other partners to share public information about harm reduction service access after CTS closure
- Direct staff to report back on financial implications regarding the Integrated Care Hub lease, programming impacts, and the city’s $500,000 annual shelter-bed contribution
- Direct the City Solicitor to assess whether to declare an emergency under Section 4 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act due to documented policy gaps, with a report due by end of Q3 2026
- Allocate up to $350,000 from the working fund reserve for community group pilot projects aimed at reducing public harm
- Direct staff to request Kingston Community Health Centre collect CTS and harm reduction data for a future council report

Original Motion One — RULED OUT OF ORDER The original motion, which included clauses directing the CAO to contact Health Canada and request public statements from health institutions, was ruled out of order on procedural and jurisdictional grounds.

Attendees

The transcript does not provide a complete attendance list. Councillors mentioned by name include: - Councillor Lisa Sanek (declared pecuniary interest)
- Councillor Glenn
- Councillor McLaren
- Councillor Ridge
- Councillor Amos

The Mayor chaired portions of the meeting, but the transcript excerpt provided does not name them.