Sudbury mayor says 'more collaboration' needed to move city through opioid and homelessness crisis

Martha Dillman · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 12:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: April 23

The politician of Greater Sudbury is assuring the assemblage that enactment is ongoing to code addiction and homelessness, but Paul Lefebvre said higher levels of authorities request to measurement successful to assist.

Over the weekend, Lefebvre issued an op-ed, updating the assemblage connected the advancement being made connected the opioid crisis.

"I deliberation we're getting often a batch of comments saying 'You guys are doing nothing,' and there's tons of efforts that person been happening," helium said.

"Just not from the city's perspective, but a batch of cardinal partners passim the forefront of helping our astir susceptible population."

Lefebvre said helium wants to beryllium honorable with the assemblage that this hasn't been an casual record to enactment connected astatine metropolis hall. 

"We're putting much resources than we ever person addressing this," helium said.

"But the much that we do, it's not arsenic if the occupation has reduced. It hasn't gone distant and it won't spell away."

Lefebvre said that successful the past year, Greater Sudbury has spent $50 cardinal into homelessness and lodging programs, with $30 cardinal coming straight from the municipal taxpayers. 

He pointed to different projects, including gathering affordable seniors' lodging connected Sparks Street successful New Sudbury, the instauration of a section Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment hub arsenic good arsenic expanding structure capableness and outreach services.

Despite those efforts, Lefevbre said much assistance is needed. He said Greater Sudbury's opioid-related decease complaint remains doubly the provincial mean and accidental overdose is the starring origin of decease among radical 49 years of property and younger.

"We request to each determination a metropolis guardant together," helium said.

"We request to enactment unneurotic successful much collaboration to guarantee that radical that are trying to get services are."

Drugs getting 'more and much toxic'

An advocacy radical successful the metropolis agrees the provincial and national governments request to assistance retired much connected the streets of Sudbury.

Kaela Pelland, manager of engagement astatine Réseau Access Network, said there's been a spread successful services since the shutdown of the supervised cause depletion site, arsenic good arsenic the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth. 

"I deliberation the nonaccomplishment of the supervised depletion services successful Sudbury whitethorn besides beryllium playing a relation with the summation successful infirmary visits successful regards to toxic drugs," she said. 

"I deliberation it truly shows however the drugs are getting much and much toxic and however each the cause interactions and changes successful the cause supply, it seems it's expanding and getting worse."

She's hopeful the mayor's honesty connected this mightiness pull much national and provincial backing for Greater Sudbury. 

"In my opinion, the mode that things person been done regarding the toxic cause proviso … they person not been working," Pelland said.

"I deliberation the champion mode guardant to to collaboratively travel up with thing innovative. Northern Ontario is unsocial erstwhile it comes to our scenery and our existent resources and our backing and conscionable however things are dispersed retired geographically. So I deliberation it's truly important the northbound collaborate."