Kitchener's temporary supervised consumption site to open in September: Report

Kitchener's temporary supervised consumption siteis expected to open its doors next month, one month later than the original anticipateddate.

The application to run an interimsite was approved byHealth Canadaon July 26, and the site was originally set to open this August,according to a report from public health going to the region's community services committee Tuesday.

The report said regional staff are working to finalize the process and lease for the interim site on 150 Duke St. in Kitchener.

Work for the interim site is scheduled to begin mid-August.

Public health saidfurniture has been ordered for the interim site, which can be used forthe permanent site as well. Plans to have several security cameras installed are underway.

Application for permanent site under review

The region is still waiting for approval to run a permanent CTS sitefrom the province's Ministry of Health and Long-term Care.

An application was submitted to the ministry on May 31.

Public health and Sanguen Health Centre have been corresponding with the ministry on a weekly basis to finalize the process.

"The latest correspondence occurred on July 29, 2019 and the application continues to be under review," the report said.

It adds a tender for a contractor is expected to be posted in September with work for the permanent site scheduled to begin in October.

Public health expects the permanent siteto be ready by February 2020.

Work for Cambridge sitecontinues

Public health says itcontinues to work with Cambridge staff to determine where the city'ssite willgo.

In June, Cambridge council voted in favour of asupervised consumption siteoutside the core areas and called for the developmentof a community wellbeing advisory committee to help determine possible sites.

Public health said a facilitator will help to carry out acommunity consultation to identify potential locations for the city'ssite.