A new wrinkle as emerged as Waterloo Region officials attempt to bring supervised injection sites to the Kitchener and Cambridge cores.

Incoming premier Doug Ford said this spring that he is “dead against” the sites, which are touted as a way to reduce the impact of drug addictions on wider communities while improving health outcomes for users.

As plans to create such sites locally have been moving forward under the assumption provincial funding would be available, the election of a Ford-led Progressive Conservative government throws into question whether existing funding pots will remain accessible.

Due to that uncertainty, regional councillors voted Tuesday to have Regional Chair Ken Seiling talk to Ford “as soon as possible” to determine whether money for supervised injection sites will still be made available.

That vote was part of a larger discussion about the issue of supervised injection sites, which ended with councillors voting to further investigate a series of proposed locations in Kitchener and Cambridge.

Proposed sites identified by public health officials include 150 Main Street and 149 Ainslie Street North in Cambridge, as well as 115 Water Street North and an undisclosed location in Kitchener. The locations were chosen based on factors including availability and proximity to businesses and children, while attempting to stay near the Kitchener and Galt downtown cores – because those areas report the highest number of opioid-related emergencies in the region.

It is expected that one site will be selected in each city.

Before making their decision, regional councillors heard from a number of proponents and opponents of moving forward with the current plan. Several people voiced concerns about the specific sites in Cambridge.

Cindy Watson, a Cambridge resident and public school board trustee, said she had heard from parents concerned about the proposed sites in that city being short walking distances from schools.

“The concern is that … will those who are taking drugs enter the schoolground, or will students somehow bump into someone who maybe isn’t coherent?” she said in an interview.

Watson said she would rather see an injection site set up at Cambridge Memorial Hospital – an idea previously floated by Mayor Doug Craig, who has said he will not support any proposal to put a site in the Galt core.

Cambridge city councillors recently passed a bylaw banning any injection sites from opening in the city without their approval. In an interview with CTV News, Craig describes the sites as “a haven for criminal activity.”

Also speaking Tuesday was Sherif Louka, a Kitchener resident who said he was able to break free from a drug addiction eight years ago. He spoke in support of supervised injection sites.

“I really can’t see people dying anymore without helping (them),” he told CTV News.

“I couldn’t be quiet anymore. I had to come and say what they really need to succeed.”

Councillors also heard from Jenny Kirby, a Kitchener resident who questioned whether concerns about “property values decreasing and businesses fleeing” should be considered a major factor in any decision about injection sites.

“People seem to be more worried about money … then people who are dying,” she said.

“You can’t place a value on peoples’ lives like that.”

With reporting by Tina Yazdani