The Ontario government is putting vulnerable individuals at increased risk through Bill 6, Ontario’s “Safer Municipalities Act,” enacted June 2025.
This law prohibits “the public consumption of illegal substances” in public spaces, with penalties for non-compliance including jail time and fines up to $10,000. The government has publicly stated that the goal of the bill is the “clearing of encampments by enhancing penalties.” Through the bill, the government has legislated expanded police powers, allowing the police to make arrests without a warrant based on “reasonable grounds” that an individual is in breach of the provisions of the bill. The bill also allows police to relocate individuals, removing them from public spaces – including outdoor spaces where they may be living.
The law offers an exemption for drug use in safe consumption sites. However, Bill 223 – passed in 2024 – has limited these services. Ten supervised consumption sites have been mandated to close in Ontario, including five in Toronto, reducing access to life-saving services.
“Amnesty International is concerned that these expanded police powers will further undermine the rights of communities already disproportionately targeted by police violence, forcing people who use drugs into an impossible choice between criminalization and increased risk of overdose,” stated Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada (English Speaking).
Indigenous people, particularly women, are disproportionately affected by the bill. They are overrepresented among those living outdoors and in the carceral system, face higher rates of police violence, and experience intersecting factors – poverty, inadequate housing, gendered violence, and systemic discrimination – that increases their risk of criminalization.
In response to the disproportionate impact on Indigenous communities, Mskwaasin Agnew of Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction shared, “The social determinants of health for Indigenous people are just as important to sovereignty and autonomy as land and water. The toxic drug supply claiming the lives of Indigenous people is the continuation of genocide. Our relatives deserve one more sunrise.”
“People who use drugs have fundamental rights that must be respected and protected. To criminalize people who use drugs without addressing underlying causes is not a solution and denies their fundamental human rights. Bill 6 is a dangerous setback,” said Nivyabandi.
“The Ontario government must uphold its commitment to life, security, and equality for all its citizens by repealing Bill 6 and Bill 223 and investing in community-led harm reduction strategies.”
Read More: Colonial Policing in a Drug Crisis: How Bill 6 and Bill 223 Endanger Lives
Header Photo Credit: Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction
