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Ontario’s Ministry of Health has announced plans to shut down Kingston’s only supervised drug consumption site and replace it with a Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub.
According to a media release issued Friday, the government is “ending funding for the last remaining provincially funded drug injection site.” It will close Sept. 30.
To prevent gaps in care, the site will reopen the following day as a HART Hub offering mental health and addictions support, primary care, supportive housing and employment services, the ministry added.
HART Hubs do not offer safer supply, supervised drug consumption or needle exchange programs.
News of closure comes 1 day after drug alert
Kingston Community Health Centres (KCHC), which ran the Kingston consumption site out of the Integrated Care Hub on Montreal Street, said staff there have reversed thousands of overdoses and connected “countless individuals with care,” since 2018.
The closure will have a significant impact on clients, staff and the community, the organization said.
“Evidence from other jurisdictions in Ontario has shown that the loss of supervised consumption services can lead to increased overdose risk, more people using drugs alone, more calls to Emergency Medical Services, more Emergency Department visits for opioid-related toxicities, and reduced access to essential health supports,” read a statement KCHC shared Friday.
Just one day before the provincial announcement was made, local public health officials issued an alert following a “significant spike” in drug poisonings among people who believed they were consuming fentanyl.
The health unit warned anyone who intended to use drugs not to do so alone, pointing to Kingston’s supervised consumption site as a location where drug checking was available.
Justine McIsaac, the consumption treatment co-ordinator at Kingston’s Integrated Care Hub noted a spike in drug poisonings in an alert shared by public health officials on March 9, 2026. (Michelle Allan / CBC)
While the consumption site may be closing in the coming months, other services will continue to be offered at the same location, according to Addiction & Mental Health Services – KFLA.
It confirmed the Integrated Care Hub at 661 Montreal St. will be transitioning to the HART Hub and added supports will continue to be offered there in the meantime.
The change will “bring increased resources in support of the most vulnerable people in our community through the provision of quality integrated health and social services,” states a media release on its website.
The provincial announcement ends nearly a month of speculation following a pledge by the province in mid-March to end funding for seven other active drug consumption sites including two in Ottawa.
At the time, it was not clear what the news meant for Kingston.
Ministry says it’s doubling funding to $6.3M
KCHC said it was included in a March 13 meeting where provincial funding cuts were announced, but had received no formal notice from the ministry about its site.
Local officials have sought ways to preserve some services and city councillors voted unanimously March 24 to work with community partners to apply for a HART Hub.
The Health Ministry did not respond to repeated emails from CBC in March and April asking about the future of Kingston’s drug consumption site.
In its announcement Friday, the ministry said it intends to double its investment in the Kingston site, bringing its annual funding to $6.3 million.
“With this expanded funding, we have a meaningful opportunity to improve access to mental health and addiction services and provide more coordinated, community-based care for residents who need it most,” Kingston Mayor Brian Paterson said Friday in an emailed statement.
A city statement said the rest area and overnight shelter beds already offered at the site are expected to continue during the transition and will be “considered as part of future HART Hub planning.”
Health Minister Sylvia Jones said Ontario’s government is “focused on real solutions” to break the tragic cycle of addition.
“The new HART Hub in Kingston will connect vulnerable residents with the resources they need to rebuild their lives while protecting Ontario communities from dangerous behaviour driven by the increase and open use of illegal drugs,” read a quote included in the provincial announcement.