Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones took a hard stance against Toronto Public Health’s experimental hard drug decriminalization efforts earlier today.

Minister Jones urged Toronto — Canada’s largest health unit — to rescind its request to Health Canada to decriminalize toxic and illegal hard drugs, calling it a “misguided application.”

“Our government has been clear,” Jones posted on X, “We are not interested in the failed decriminalization experiment anywhere in Ontario. Instead, we are focused on investing in key services and building safer communities for everyone.”

Our government has been clear: We are not interested in the failed decriminalization experiment anywhere in Ontario.

Instead, we are focused on investing in key services and building safer communities for everyone.

We urge Toronto to rescind their misguided application. pic.twitter.com/pGJj9rPKIZ

— Sylvia Jones (@SylviaJonesMPP) May 16, 2024

A letter addressed specifically to Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Eileen de Villa states that “Ontario is 100 percent opposed” to the proposal and “would never support [de Villa’s] request, which would only add to crime and public drug use while doing nothing to support people struggling with addiction.”

Jones notes that Ontario will also “make [its] opposition clear to the federal government.”

Conservative MP Laila Goodridge motioned the HoC health committee to question bureaucrats about drug decriminalization, citing a leaked hospital memo instructing against drug and weapon confiscationhttps://t.co/10R46kQiZP pic.twitter.com/vgprdNmusN

— Tamara Ugolini 🇨🇦 (@TamaraUgo) April 17, 2024

Jones says the province will begin enacting enhanced accountability measures for existing consumption sites and treatment services to ensure public safety, citing the “disastrous” example of British Columbia, where death and despair from opioid use continues to skyrocket.

Liberal MP and Emergency Department physician Marcus Powlowski addressed the health committee yesterday, highlighting how downtown cores are out of control under oxymoronic safe supply and harm reduction strategies:https://t.co/10R46kQiZP pic.twitter.com/eMjzaGaTCc

— Tamara Ugolini 🇨🇦 (@TamaraUgo) April 17, 2024

“If Toronto Public Health fails to rescind its misguided application, we will be forced to explore all options available to us,” the letter concludes.

Minister of Labour David Piccini took to Facebook to declare “normalizing drug use is not okay!” and calls this a “Public Service Announcement to anyone locally considering the same misguided approach as Toronto.”

Piccini’s comments come as Cobourg, the largest town in his riding of Northumberland-Peterborough South, faces a crime crisis due to escalating vagrancy and cozy ties between “harm reduction” advocates and local officials.

Cobourg encampment faces community scrutiny, from the strain on emergency resources to cozy ties between advocates and local officials

FULL REPORT by @TamaraUgo: https://t.co/0Rq9e5kiEp pic.twitter.com/3Xl4heSbEk

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) May 14, 2024

Dr. de Villa announced Toronto's application for an exemption to decriminalize illicit drugs for personal use on May 1, 2024.

“Our application for an exemption to the federal law that criminalizes the possession of drugs for personal use was developed in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including individuals with lived experience who use drugs, organizations who serve them and the Toronto Police Service,” it reads.

The Liberals have committed over $ 1 billion worth of taxpayer funds to the Canadian Drug and Substances Strategy since its inception in 2016, which has been unable to yield any tangible results, instead noting that “rates of substance use and related harm continue to rise.”