End unsafe discharges, expand detox access, and fund real transitions

To:

The Government of Ontario, Ministry of Health, Ontario Health, and publicly funded hospitals and withdrawal management (detox) providers

Petition Statement

Across Ontario, people who are ready to seek help for substance use are being failed by a system that is too slow, too restrictive, and dangerously fragmented.

Individuals asking for help are facing weeks or months-long waits for publicly funded treatment, limited detox stays, premature discharges, and bans from services for behaviours that are often symptoms of withdrawal, mental illness, trauma, or disability. Hospitals are turning people away, detox programs are discharging patients after only a few days, and many are released with nowhere safe to go.

The result is predictable and preventable: relapse, repeated crisis, homelessness, and avoidable deaths.

This is not a lack of willingness to recover it is a lack of accessible, humane, and continuous care.

The Facts

Ontario’s Auditor General has reported increasing wait times for addiction treatment, including residential programs averaging 50 days, with some reported waits extending well beyond 100 days.

There are major regional gaps in detox and residential bed availability, with some areas having little to no access at all.

Detox and withdrawal management services are meant to be available immediately, yet many Ontarians report being turned away or discharged before they are medically or psychologically stable.

Ontario’s homelessness crisis is worsening, with over 80,000 people experiencing homelessness, many of whom also live with substance use and mental health conditions.

There is little to no transitional housing or guaranteed follow-up care after detox or rehab, forcing people back into unsafe environments where relapse is likely.

This system prioritizes rules, capacity limits, and liability over safety, continuity, and recovery.

What We Are Calling For

We call on the Province of Ontario to implement province-wide reforms to addiction and withdrawal management services, including:

1. Immediate, Low-Barrier Access to Detox

Adequate staffing and funding so people are not turned away when they ask for help

Withdrawal management treated as urgent medical care, not optional programming

2. Clinically Appropriate Length of Stay

End blanket 2–5 day detox limits

Discharge decisions must be based on medical stability and safety, not bed pressure

3. Fair and Transparent Discharge & Ban Policies

Written reasons for discharge or bans

A clear, timely appeal process

Recognition that withdrawal, mental illness, disability, and distress can affect behaviour

4. Real Transitions, Not Discharge to Homelessness

Funded transitional supportive housing and step-down options after detox and rehab

No one should be discharged to the street while waiting for treatment

5. Mandatory Follow-Up Care

Guaranteed connections to addiction medicine, outpatient services, and case management

Continuity of care after detox and after rehab

6. Public Accountability

Transparent reporting on wait times, turn-aways, discharges, bans, and outcomes

Province-wide standards instead of inconsistent local rules

Why This Matters

People do not choose addiction. They choose recovery and when they do, the system must be ready.

No one seeking help should be turned away, punished, or abandoned because the system is underfunded or poorly designed. Ontario can and must do better.

Lives depend on it.

We urge the Government of Ontario to act now.