Pembroke – It was a long night in the Pembroke city council chambers last Tuesday when council members debated a series of resolutions presented by Councillor Ian Kuehl focusing on the drug issue in the city.

The resolutions ranged from Coun. Kuehl seeking support to declare an illegal and toxic drug use crisis in the city to requesting more police foot patrols in the downtown area. At the end of the two-hour-long discussion, council voted 5-2 against declaring a crisis but the resolution seeking increased frequent foot patrols passed passed 4-3.

Councillor Andrew Plummer seconded all of the motions to bring them to the table for discussion.

On the resolution to declare an illegal and toxic drug crisis, Coun. Kuehl said his colleagues know the city has been experiencing a significant drug crisis for the last couple of years, and that COVID was a hard time for many individuals and created major problems in many regions of the country.

He described drug traffickers as “the scum of the earth, preying off some of the most vulnerable individuals.”

“And they don’t want us to succeed in this,” he said. “They make a lot of money off of the drug trade.”

He said traffickers are living high on the hog while community members struggle with drug addiction.

“This is a recognition that this council understands, has noticed and appreciates what our residents are going through and relaying to all of us,” he said.

He said it wasn’t the first time a city council has declared a general matter of urgency, noting the previous council declared a climate emergency in a 5-1 vote in 2021.

He said both the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Renfrew County and District Health Unit have had to issue notices regarding overdose alerts and tainted drug supplies.

“In the last two years the health unit has issued no fewer than 23 opioid-related deaths in the county, up 10 from the year before,” he said. “We are not through 2024 yet, but it shows you in the last two years we went from 10 to 23 last year.

“And what a shame it is to lose anyone to a drug overdose.”

He said OPP statistics show overdoses continue to rise year over year, noting there were 24 in 2022, two of which were fatal; then it went up to 27 in 2023, three fatal, and this year through the first three quarters, there have been 38, five of them fatal.

He said criminal charges related to drugs also continue on an upward trend, noting there was a 20 per cent increase in possession and trafficking charges over last year.

“This current crisis is probably affecting us in many ways we have never felt before,” Coun. Kuehl said. “It doesn’t just hit on health matters, it is hitting on security matters, safety issues. People are telling me they don’t feel safe in the city anymore and they all say the same thing: ‘I never used to lock my door.’

“I recommend people lock their doors.”

He said many are thinking back to how they once lived and that they no longer feel safe and secure. He said senior governments and other agencies are looking for ways to deal with the issue but one of the groups that hasn’t quite yet weighed in on drug enforcement issues is the council.

“There are certain aspects we as a municipal council can take,” he said. “This is not to say, very clearly, I have any intention of going after drug users. Drug users are victims. They just didn’t wake up one morning and decide, ‘I’m going to go find some illegal drugs’.”

Coun. Kuehl said there have been some sizeable trafficking busts recently as well as an increase in the number of drug houses in the city.

“It’s not that they didn’t exist before, but we certainly didn’t know so many of them before,” he said.

He said communities across the province and country are struggling with drug trafficking and drug crimes while a lot of attention and money is needed to be focused on the issue.

He said Renfrew County is working with the province to try and put a HART (Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment) Hub in Pembroke because people are at their lowest and they need resources.

“This should say to the province we recognize the problem, we need resources, we need funding, we need wraparound support for users, we need increased policing and enforcement measures to stop the traffickers and sellers,” he said.

Coun. Kuehl said the city should be showing its residents council has heard their concerns and knows what is going on and are going to be taking action.

“I certainly think that if we can recognize climate change as a council, this council can certainly recognize the drug issue as a current crisis,” he said.

Declaring A Crisis Might Be Premature

Councillor Troy Purcell, who sits on the Renfrew County District Drug Strategy Steering Committee, sympathized with Coun. Kuehl and didn’t disagree with what he was saying but thought it might be a little bit premature to declare a crisis because several groups and agencies including Mackay Manor, the  Ontario Addiction Treatment Centre, the Ontario Health Team, Ottawa Valley Health Team, Pathways, Pembroke Regional Hospital, the Phoenix Centre, the health unit, local school boards, the Youth Wellness Hub, The Grind, several municipalities and the OPP agree they are not in a crisis situation.

“We are actually down in terms of our statistics from last year,” he said. “Maybe I’m part of the problem, not communicating accurately in terms of what we are trying to accomplish — our drug strategy.”

He said the Mesa program, launched in March 2024 which supports vulnerable individuals including those who use substances, established the drug strategy committee working group for four different pillars: prevention, treatment, harm reduction and community safety.

He felt it would be better to table the motion until recommendations are received from the steering committee that has individuals working diligently to address issues including social issues and looking at community safety efforts in terms of reducing drug-related crimes and community harms while supporting individuals who need treatment and recovery services.

He said Renfrew County had 41 suspected drug toxicity deaths in 2023 while so far this year the number is down significantly to 25.

Following the declaration in Belleville in March 2024 of an illegal drug emergency, Pembroke decided it would not declare an emergency and instead took steps to engage, support and address the needs of the marginalized members and the public at large. He said the OPP launched foot patrols with paramedics, which was unprecedented in Ontario, targeting high-risk areas and offering supports.

He said the OPP mobile crisis response team has stayed engaged with the vulnerable, the new warming centre will offer longer hours this winter season, getting the homeless off the streets earlier, and it will also be staffed with Mesa members.

Coun. Purcell said property crimes, petty thefts and mischiefs have shown a decrease of nine per cent so far this year while foot patrols in the downtown from January 2024 to early November were 219.5 hours and very comparable to last year.

In the bigger picture, there are also 12 transitional beds being established at the Carefor Mackay Street Centre, formerly the Grey Sisters Motherhouse.

He said the next step is to get funding approved for the HART Hub, which will be located at Carefor.

“I think this is the solution and not criminalizing individuals because they have a medical problem,” he said.

He felt Coun. Kuehl’s resolution was premature because recommendations will be coming from the steering committee in the new year which should make a difference not only for the quality of lives for residents, but downtown businesses and the individuals utilizing those services.

Public Concerned

Councillor Andrew Plummer, who seconded the resolution, said the public is concerned about drugs, individuals using drugs and finding drug paraphernalia around the city.

“So I have to (support it) on what I have heard from the citizens,” he said. “They are concerned. They want to see some action from the city and if declaring a crisis is that action and it leads to further action, I’m in favour of that.”

Councillor Patricia Lafreniere agreed with Coun. Purcell that the drug strategy touches on all the points.

“They have the expertise,” she said.

She said it is frustrating when offenders are arrested and they are out of jail in a couple of days.

“I don’t see how us getting harder at a municipal level is going to solve that,” she said. “I think we are coming around the curve. I understand where Coun. Kuehl is coming from, and I agree with some of them (resolutions), but not all of them. Let’s table this until the spring and see where all this lands.

Councillor Ed Jacyno was concerned with conflicting information presented by Councillors Kuehl and Purcell.

“I’d like to see the hard data and make my own determination,” he said.

He told Coun. Kuehl he admired him for saying what he did about drug dealers being the scum of the earth.

“Saying things sometimes has consequences. We know the drug trade is not run by Mickey Mouse individuals. It’s run by organized crime syndicates. Not here. They come here to collect money and drop off shipments.”

Coun. Jacyno said the police are aware of these people and monitor them and their activities.

“They know where it’s coming from and given enough time and resources, I think they are going to put a clinch to it,” he said.

Should See A Significant Improvement

Coun. Purcell felt they would see a significant improvement over the winter months, not only for residents but also for the clients.

Mayor Ron Gervais said he also attends steering committee meetings to wrap his head around what is going on in the community.

“With the greatest respect to Coun. Kuehl, we are all trying to pull in the same direction,” he remarked. The mayor said he wasn’t sure if the public appreciated the actions being taken, and they need to be educated on all of the different things being done.

“We’re all understanding of this because we sit around the table and there are no barriers, but the public doesn’t know what it is that we are doing so we need this communication pushed out,” he said.

Coun. Kuehl said he was pulling his information from OPP reports and not thin air.

“Possession, trafficking and stolen goods, up 66 per cent, mischief up 10 per cent,” he said. “The reason that these motions are here is the drug crimes. Possession up three per cent, trafficking up 20 per cent.

“I get there are ups and downs in reports, but this is two years of increases in drug crimes.”

He said the OPP reported 24 overdoses in 2022, 27 in 2023 and 38 so far this year.

“The whole point of me bringing these issues tonight, we have talked a lot about the health side of it and I am not saying that’s not important,” he continued. “All I am saying to this council is we are focusing on HART Hubs, warming centres, a lot on the health stuff. That’s not our prerogative. We don’t fund health care in the province.

“All I am asking is for this council to take a moment to also think about the criminal and community safety part. It’s a pillar we have not discussed around this table.”

Failing to Acknowledge Community Safety Is An Issue

He referenced the double homicide in Pembroke in 2023 and asked how many people must die before council admits there is a problem.

“Nobody is acknowledging that community safety pillar,” he said. “Council is taking it seriously, but we don’t think this is a crisis. I don’t think there is a larger issue we are working on right now in the city.

“All I am asking for us to do for one night is to perhaps put aside the HART Hub, put aside the warming centre and look at the other things people are coming to us with,” he said.  “Everybody acknowledged we are hearing this, but we are going to say tonight, ‘you know what, we can’t put a word to it, we can’t call it a crisis, we’re working on it, we’re working diligently, but just stand by.’

“I’m not prepared to stand by anymore. We can’t wait any longer.

 “To stand here and say, just give us more time and we hope things will be better, we’re literally saying to the people, ‘just leave us alone. We’re working on it. We’ll get there, we hope.’

“I don’t know that a large number of people are actually seeing and believing we’re working on the community safety aspect, and I don’t know that they would accept us saying ‘let’s wait again until the spring and we will see what we have.’”

Coun. Kuehl said he never would have thought that declaring something a crisis would be difficult when everyone around the council table knows what city departments have been doing, what other agencies have been doing.

“We’ve got numbers of deaths, double homicides … I chose the word crisis because I didn’t actually think it would be a problem. I thought it would be us acknowledging to the people of the city that we see there is a big problem now. It doesn’t fix the problem, but it says to the people ‘we get it, we see it and it’s top of mind.’”

If council doesn’t think there is a crisis, he questioned why so much time and money is being spent on it.

“But we aren’t acknowledging to the public that this is a problem?”

Crisis Is The Wrong Word

Councillor Ed Jacyno said when he thinks of the word crisis, he thinks of something really, really bad.

“If we didn’t have the warming centre, if we didn’t have the Carefor project going ahead, if we didn’t have the Mesa group working and interacting with the other social groups, to me that would be a crisis,” he said. “We’d have a crisis if none of these other things weren’t in place. Crisis is the wrong interpretation for me of a word for this situation.”

Coun. Purcell admitted it’s a tough issue for the community and the entire country saying no municipality has been spared. However, he said there would be no value in declaring a crisis now.

“It’s not going to change or do anything to provide us any additional supports and services,” he said. “We’ve tapped all the services we can tap right now.”

He suggested continuing doing what they are doing, continue implementing the initiatives underway, and address any loopholes.

“I don’t think a month or two or three is going to change anything in terms of a declaration. We’ve got boots on the ground, people working diligently to get the warming centre running, 12 beds opening.

“All these things are in place and I think we just need to give it time to let the dust settle and not to rally the community for really no purpose at all.

“So give it a few extra months and allow the supports to get in place and then see what transpires then and if there are gaps we can address them through a motion.”

Other Resolutions

Coun. Kuehl introduced 10 resolutions at the meeting. Others were:

2 – City of Pembroke Efforts Regarding Illegal and Toxic Drug Use. Withdrawn.

3 – Municipal request to federal and provincial governments to provide resources and tools to combat illegal and toxic drug use. Motion to table passed 5-2.

4 – Municipal request to the federal government for new laws and more severe and new sentencing options concerning the illegal importing, trafficking and sale of controlled substances. Passed 6-1.

5 – Municipal request to provincial government to enact new laws and regulations to deal with drug houses and other drug-related nuisance properties. Passed 6-1.

6 – Request to the Ontario Provincial Police – Upper Ottawa Valley Detachment (Pembroke) to attend before the council to present an actionable plan to combat local drug crime, drug-related crime, drug trafficking and the establishment of drug houses in the City of Pembroke. Defeated 4-3.

7 – Request for more frequent OPP foot patrols. Passed 4-3.

8 – Municipal law enforcement measures regarding illegal and toxic drug use. Withdrawn.

9 – Making illegal the littering, disposing or depositing of drugs, drug residue or drug paraphernalia on private property . Withdrawn.

10 – Community Improvement Plan Grant for the purchasing of new security systems with a public benefit and promotion of the CAMSafe Program. Motion to table passed 5-2.