CORNWALL, Ontario – A numbered company with connections to methadone clinics in Ontario is a new owner of a building in downtown Cornwall.
Land registry documents obtained by Seaway News show that numbered company “1276154 Ontario Limited” is one of the new owners of a building at 41 Second Street West – a former call centre. The sale was completed July 13 for nearly $362,000.
An online search for 1276154 Ontario Limited shows connections to other methadone clinics in places like London, Ont. and Sault Ste. Marie operated by Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres. Another numbered company with no online profile is also listed as a new owner of 41 Second Street West.
What is unclear, at least officially, is whether a new methadone clinic may be setting up in Cornwall, or the existing facility on Marlborough Street is considering making a move.
Change Health Care operates the methadone clinic on Marlborough Street in Cornwall.
A person who answered the phone at the Marlborough location told Seaway News the clinic is switching locations, but referred further questions to Change Health Care’s Kingston offices.
Kate Johnston, clinic co-ordinator for Change Health Care in Kingston, could not answer questions concerning a move when reached, and repeated subsequent attempts to offer her a chance to comment on this story have not been accepted. Likewise Seaway News visited the Cornwall clinic location in person and staff members were not answering questions.
“We got an email yesterday saying not to say anything,” said one individual behind the counter Thursday.
Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres has not yet responded to a request for comment.
But on the heels of weeks of rumours about a new methadone clinic downtown, concern is now spreading like wildfire among business owners who are not pleased.
“They had one here a few years ago near the library…a needle-exchange or something. I walked by there one day and there were all kinds of needles in the alley,” said Stuart Gordon, owner of Gordon Jewellers on Second Street West. “To me that kind of thing belongs at the hospital…not the middle of downtown.”
Gordon, a member of the Cornwall Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA), plans to bring the issue up with other colleagues. DBIA officials discussed the issue at a meeting held this week.
Cornwall Chamber of Commerce president Denis Carr said he had no problem with the move, so long as all the necessary permits and zoning rules are followed.
“Would you notice if you didn’t know what was going on in there?” he said. “The one on Marlborough Street – I didn’t even know what that was.
“I mean, we have a probation office downtown. And (the location) is right next to the courthouse, so we will have a police presence.”
Seaway News has spoken with officials connected to the real estate deal concerning the building at 41 Second Street West, who indicated a numbered company had purchased the building. A real estate banner that was hanging in front of the building Wednesday had been removed by Thursday.
Methadone is prescribed for opiate drug addicts as a way to help them combat the urges that come with addiction. It’s an effective and legal substitute for heroin or other narcotics like Oxycontin, opium and Percocet to name a few.
Methadone, which is typically administered orally, has been used in treatment programs since the 1960’s. It stabilizes cravings and helps wean addicts off drugs.
Some downtown business owners who spoke with Seaway News wondered aloud if city hall might be able to prevent the move, but chief administrative officer Norm Levac said not likely.
“If it complies with zoning, there’s not much we can do,” he said.
In Ontario, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) is responsible for ensuring the quality of care provided by methadone-prescribing physicians. The CPSO also monitors methadone prescribing and identifies potential prescribing problems through its database of Ontario methadone prescribers and recipients.
