Ethics complaint against Hamilton councillor part of heated neighbourhood battle over supervised drug-use site

A Hamilton city councillor is the target of an ethics complaint focused on her handling of a proposed supervised drug-use site that advocates say will save lives amid a rising tide of overdose deaths.

Residents opposed to the service on Barton Street East argue the process has been secretive, lacked adequate consultation and been mired by inflammatory remarks.

Coun. Nrinder Nann, meanwhile, contends some ardent opponents of the AIDS Networks's proposal have intimidated its supporters and mistreated people experiencing overdoses.

The integrity commissioner complaint brings to a boil a simmering debate over the would-be consumption and treatment services (CTS) site, with a deadly opioid crisis serving as its backdrop.

A CTS site provides people who use illicit drugs a place to consume under the supervision of trained staff in an effort to prevent overdose deaths. It connects them with other health and social services.

Last month, council endorsed the AIDS Network's proposal for 746 Barton St. E., a one-storey commercial location near Barnesdale Avenue, in support of the agency's application for provincial and federal approvals.

During that meeting, Nann said a vocal few" in the area have not only been inciting fear, but also intimidating neighbours" who support the CTS plan. Those supporters have been harassed, they've been targeted and they've been threatened."

The Ward 3 councillor also said she'd received reports of people in medical distress" due to a toxic drug supply" being exploited and manipulated and harmed" by project opponents.

This is completely inhumane and fully criminal in my eyes," she said.

And yet," Nann added, the very act of dropping off people - in medical distress after consuming drugs - onto the steps of CTS supporters points directly to the need" for such services.

The opponents don't dispute the value of a CTS program, says Bob Bratina, a former MP and mayor who has joined the fray on a volunteer basis to represent concerned residents.

But they question the proposed location, said Bratina, who made a mayoral comeback bid in the fall election.

They are saying, Fine, let's help these people. You can't do it there for these reasons.'"

Site critics, armed with nearly 1,200 signatures on a petition, have pointed to its proximity to schools, an agency that serves youngsters with disabilities, a community centre, a daycare centre, businesses and homes.

Moreover, site opponents have aired fears of discarded needles, vagrancy and more crime in the area.

If it comes in here, I wouldn't feel safe," Lena Sutton, a retiree who lives near the proposed location, said in late 2021.

Nann has negatively broad-brushed" objecting residents, Bratina argues, saying that couldn't be seen as conscientious and diligent behaviour" for a councillor, referring to city politicians' code of conduct.

In an interview, Walter Furlan, a vocal critic of the CTS application who ran against Nann in the last municipal election, and his wife, Liz Duval, called the councillor's allegations incendiary."

The couple, who live and operate a business on Barton near the proposed CTS, added in an email they're unaware of any individuals being exploited, manipulated or harmed."

Moreover, without a specific allegation," they're unable to comment," saying that doing so would be fuelling speculation."

In a Spectator op-ed, area resident Bob Sutton called Nann's unsubstantiated allegations very disturbing" and argued they should not have been permitted in a city council meeting."

But Nann, a staunch supporter of the AID Network's plan, stands by her position that some - but not all - who oppose the proposal have harassed its backers.

That's a really important piece because I'm concerned about the safety of residents in this neighbourhood," she told The Spectator.

Negative treatment'

Indeed, there are hostilities in the area, says Jelena Vermilion, executive director of the Sex Workers' Action Program (SWAP), which is on Barton not far from the proposed CTS site.

Sex workers who access SWAP's services have been shooed away," she says.

They've been receiving a lot of negative treatment, targeting, where they're actually afraid to access our services now," Vermilion said.

The ethics complaint against Nann, meanwhile, is asinine" and the CTS badly needed, she says, recalling an emergency last year.

A woman banged on SWAP's window to call attention to her boyfriend, who was overdosing, Vermilion says.

Vermilion grabbed naloxone kits, which the woman used to revive her boyfriend. Vermilion said she believes someone directed the couple to SWAP, echoing Nann's remarks at council.

I think, if anything ... the fact that I was there that day and the fact that I was able to respond, underscores the need for a CTS in that area."

Despite the backlash from some, the AIDS Network proposal has generated dozens of letters of support, including from hospitals, police, doctors, social-service agencies, businesses and residents.

If approved by the province, the service will play a crucial role in the area, says Tim McClemont, executive director of the agency.

The overarching piece of this is this provides a huge strategy to save lives."

But the CTS will also offer wraparound services," such as referrals to treatment, housing and other medical care, McClemont said.

The AIDS Network managed to find a willing landlord in an area that has a high volume of overdose-related paramedic calls, he noted.

The evidence from CTS operations has shown that they don't lead to the kind of public safety issues the Barton critics have flagged, McClemont said.

But we understand that people may have those concerns," he added, pointing to such mitigation measures as security guards and peer workers to help prevent loitering and sweep the area for needles.

Unwilling landlords

The AIDS Network isn't the only CTS applicant to face hurdles in securing a site, despite an identified need for more than one in Hamilton.

In late 2017, council endorsed public health's call for at least two sites but initially opted for staff to only take a support role in agencies' applications to the province.

Since May 2018, Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre has operated a supervised drug-use service in the downtown area.

Urban Core's CTS is temporarily located at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church on James Street South while it awaits a new building on Cannon Street East near Wentworth.

With mounting overdoses, and agencies struggling to find willing landlords, in early 2019, city politicians backed staff's call for a public health-led CTS application.

After considering roughly 30 locations in Ward 2 and Ward 3, where most of Hamilton's overdoses happen, staff came up empty, despite a prospective deal with a landlord that never materialized.

Local hospitals and CityHousing Hamilton were among those who rejected a CTS on their premises.

Fear and stigma'

Sometimes, city politicians have to make unpopular decisions for the greater good.

That was part of Marcie McIlveen's message in support of the AIDS Network CTS in February.

In my own personal lived experienced, (the pushback is) based around fear and stigma and misformation," said McIlveen, program manager with the Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team.

If it hadn't been for an Ottawa shelter's unofficial overdose prevention site housed in a trailer, she would have died, she told the board of health.

I overdosed in that trailer at least four times, and thanks to that space, and one that was not wanted by the community, I am alive today and in front of you."

Support for the AIDS Network CTS comes during a time of mounting fatal overdoses in Hamilton driven by powerful opioids like fentanyl and volatile mixes.

As of November 2022, there were 148 probable or confirmed opioid-related deaths in Hamilton, according to data provided by the city and drawn from the provincial coroner's office. There were 165 in 2021 and 127 in 2020.

The rising death toll isn't lost on councillors, who later in February revisited the AIDS Network proposal after initially backing it at board of health.

It's terrible what's happening," Coun. Matt Francis said.

But it's hard to ignore the nearly 1,200 petition signatories who have expressed opposition to the Barton CTS site, the Ward 5 councillor said.

It speaks volumes for the community when there's that many people signing something."

Francis and Coun. Esther Pauls, who argued other sites could be explored amid ongoing consultation, went against the tide in a 13-2 vote backing the AIDS Network proposal.

That council endorsement came with a caveat" that the agency would conduct robust community engagement" to help address safety and neighbourhood impact concerns." Public health is to also co-ordinate wraparound" services.

Supporting that direction, Mayor Andrea Horwath pointed to the identified need for a second site.

I think we have an opportunity in this particular situation to actually work with the community to create an environment that is safe for neighbours and safe for the business district, as well as safe for people who are drug users."

A thorough opposition'

Those behind the ethics complaint argue residents critical of the Barton CTS plan have been left on the sidelines.

The motion leading to the initial board of health endorsement, later tweaked and ratified at council, arose without notice, Furlan says.

He and a fellow critic, however, were still able to make it onto the publicly posted agenda to address city politicians that day. But they weren't well prepared, Furlan says.

We would have mounted a thorough opposition, which we weren't able to do."

And others who showed up missed the deadline to register as delegates, having found out too late via a media report the issue was to be discussed, Bratina says.

It was pretty obvious there was something amiss," he says, adding the walk-on" motion should have been a notice of motion so as to not blindside the residents.

Not so, asserts Nann, who says Horwath presented a procedurally correct motion," which she followed up to amend, also correctly, at council.

Furlan, meanwhile, says supporters of the integrity commissioner complaint, which he notes is backed by 50 letters, want the endorsement to be put on hold until a full public consultation occurs."

He and his wife Duval contend efforts by the AIDS Network and ward councillor to seek community feedback have fallen short.

Nann, for her part, said it's unfair" to have expected her to facilitate consultation for an agency's application, but called it appropriate" to share any information she has with residents. And I believe that I've done so."

The AIDS Network's feedback-gathering efforts thus far have included flyers, discussions with organizations, residents and public officials, social-media outreach, an online survey and a dedicated space on the agency's website.

But Nann, McClemont said, has made it clear" that she expected a more comprehensive consultation.

We have tried to do that. We know that we could do better. We could always do better."

The province, meanwhile, hasn't indicated when its review of the application might wrap up, McClemont said.

Principles Integrity, which acts as the city's commissioner, declined to comment at this point" on the complaint.

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com