Hundreds of wooden crosses were planted on the front lawn of Queen’s Park on a rainy Monday morning as advocates for overdose prevention sites attempted to highlight the human cost of the opioid crisis in Ontario.

A total of 1,265 crosses were hammered into the South Lawn of the Legislature to represent the number of deaths caused by opioid overdoses in the province in 2017.

The protest is in reaction to a recent announcement by Health Minister Christine Elliott, who said that the government needs more time to review overdose prevention sites and determine how they can “introduce people into rehabilitation.”

The Ford government “paused” the planned opening of three legal, funded sites over the summer while they conducted the review. At the time, Elliott said the decision was spurred by evidence that showed the sites are ineffective.

A final decision on the sites was initially expected by the end of September.

The province said Monday it needs another month for the review, despite the fact that the Elliott said she has already “reviewed the latest data,” visited prevention sites and held consultations.

“There’s a lot to be encompassed in this decision,” Elliott told the Legislative Assembly. “It’s not one thing, it’s many things, and we want to make sure that we do it right.”

Once her recommendations are finalized, Elliott said it will be up to Premier Doug Ford to make the final decision.

Gillian Kolla, a front-line worker who started a community-based prevention site in Parkdale, said the province is on track in 2018 to match or exceed the number of drug overdose deaths last year. She added that communities need to “scale up” the number of sites.

“It’s much better to have these services so people can be connected to health care services and connected to treatment,” Kolla told CTV News Toronto.  “You can do that a lot better in a community health centre than in a Tim Hortons bathroom.”

In a news release, the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society (OPS) called on the provincial government to open the three Liberal government-approved sites and to process applications for five other sites that were submitted prior to the PC review.

While Ford promised to say more on the issue this week, it’s unclear exactly when a decision on the three prevention sites will be made.  

Green Party Leader Mike Schriner believes the delay suggests the government may be struggling over whether to put ideology over evidence.

Schriner said the overdose prevention site in his riding of Guelph has been “saving lives” and should be converted into a permanent site with dedicated funding.

Schriner believes by cancelling the three planned sites, the government could be setting itself up for another lawsuit.