Correct Answer: whether the city should add supervised consumption sites
Passage Reference: whether to open two more supervised consumption sites
Why this is correct: The editorial weighs whether council should open two more supervised consumption sites, and on what terms. Every speaker gives a view on that choice.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, read the first sentence of the passage. Every speaker after that reacts to the same decision.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how hospitals can shorten ambulance wait times: Ambulance records are Koh’s evidence that staff respond quickly, but hospital wait times are not the topic.
- whether drug use should be treated as a crime: Nobody debates the law on drug use. The question is whether to add supervised sites.
- how downtown shops can win back customers: Lost customers are part of Walsh’s concern, but the editorial is about the sites, not about shop marketing.
Correct Answer: Edmund Walsh
Passage Reference: a clause that would close a site if disorder calls to police have not dropped once a set review period ends
Why this is correct: Edmund Walsh’s support depends on measurable street-order targets. He also wants a clause that would close a site if disorder calls do not fall within a review period.
Tips: Several speakers set conditions, so read each one closely. Ask which condition is a result that must be measured later, not a feature built at the start.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Mara Koh: Mara Koh ties her support to referrals into treatment and housing, not to a measured change in the neighbourhood.
- Chandra Doyle: Chandra Doyle warns that poorly designed sites bring problems back. But her conditions are design features, not a measured result that keeps her support.
- Rafi Monaghan: Rafi Monaghan wants monthly incident reports published, which is about openness. He does not say his support ends unless the numbers change.
Correct Answer: a site without washrooms that soon lost local backing
Passage Reference: Without those, she warns, a site can bring back the very problems its critics describe
Why this is correct: Doyle warns about sites that lack washrooms and other features. Such a site can bring back the problems critics describe and make the next site harder to approve. So a site that lacked washrooms and lost local backing would support her.
Tips: Find the word “warns” in Doyle’s lines and read what she says could go wrong. Pick the example that shows her warning coming true.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ambulance records of quick responses at the site: Quick responses are Koh’s evidence that supervision saves lives, not proof that poor design costs public support.
- a count of shops that lost customers nearby: Lost customers back Walsh’s complaint, but they do not show that missing features caused the loss of support.
- a survey of parents who walk past a site: Parents walking past a site relate to Monaghan’s concern about distance, not to Doyle’s point about design.
Correct Answer: residents would see incident reports without filing requests
Passage Reference: incident reports posted every month so residents need not file formal information requests
Why this is correct: Monaghan asks for incident reports posted every month so residents need not file formal information requests.
Tips: Monaghan asks for three things, so read to the end of his list. Match the last item in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every site would close within its first year: Monaghan does not oppose services outright, so closing every site is not what he asks for.
- sites near schools would open only at night: Monaghan asks for opening hours limited to daytime in certain areas, which is the opposite of night-only opening.
- parents would inspect each site once a month: The reports come out every month, but Monaghan never asks parents to inspect the sites themselves.
Correct Answer: supportive, but only on terms residents can check
Passage Reference: We believe expansion can be justified, but only on terms the neighbourhood can see and verify.
Why this is correct: The writers say expansion can be justified, but only on terms the neighbourhood can see and verify. These terms include washrooms, a dashboard and monthly reports.
Tips: For an attitude question, read the last sentence of the first paragraph. Then see whether the last paragraph says the same thing in practice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- supportive of two sites with no conditions: The writers back one site next year rather than two, and only with conditions.
- opposed until disorder calls have clearly fallen: The writers would open a site next year and use disorder calls in a later review. So they are not waiting for the calls to fall first.
- neutral, leaving the choice to a public vote: The last paragraph takes a clear position, and a public vote is never suggested.
Correct Answer: moves emergencies to places without trained help
Passage Reference: it simply shifts emergencies to places where nobody is trained to help
Why this is correct: Koh argues that closing doors does not end drug use but shifts emergencies to places where nobody is trained to help.
Tips: The comment calls her “the physician”, so find Koh’s lines. Read what she says closing doors does instead of ending drug use.
Why the other options are wrong:
- brings more customers back to local shops: Customers are Walsh’s concern. Koh does not say closing doors helps shops.
- lowers the number of calls to police: Police calls come from Walsh’s review clause, not from Koh’s argument.
- pushes people into treatment much sooner: Koh wants referrals to treatment from open sites. She does not say closing doors speeds treatment.
Correct Answer: a public dashboard of needle pickup routes
Passage Reference: a public online dashboard of needle pickup routes
Why this is correct: Doyle wants staffed washrooms, space for supervised inhalation and a public online dashboard of needle pickup routes.
Tips: The comment names Doyle, so go back to her lines in the third paragraph. She gives a list of three things, and the right choice is one of them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a guard at every site entrance: Doyle lists washrooms, inhalation space and a dashboard. Guards are not on her list.
- free bus passes for site clients: Transport for clients is never mentioned in the editorial.
- a phone line for nearby merchants: Merchants are Walsh’s group, and nobody proposes a phone line for them.
Correct Answer: hours limited to the daytime
Passage Reference: opening hours limited to daytime in certain areas
Why this is correct: Monaghan asks for opening hours limited to daytime in certain areas.
Tips: The comment says “in some areas”, so find the words “in certain areas” in Monaghan’s lines. Read what he wants changed there.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a fence around every playground: Monaghan wants a minimum distance from playgrounds, not fences around them.
- police officers at each crossing: Monaghan never asks for police at crossings.
- closing the sites on school days: Monaghan limits hours to the daytime in some areas. He does not close sites on school days.
Correct Answer: refer clients straight to treatment and housing
Passage Reference: refer clients directly to treatment programs and housing workers
Why this is correct: Koh supports the new sites if each one can refer clients directly to treatment programs and housing workers.
Tips: Find the word “if” in Koh’s first sentence. What follows it is her condition for supporting the sites.
Why the other options are wrong:
- hire nurses from the downtown hospital: Koh is an emergency physician, but she never asks sites to hire hospital nurses.
- stay open around the clock: Opening hours come up only in Monaghan’s daytime request, not in Koh’s conditions.
- share its client records with police: Police appear only in Walsh’s review clause. Koh never mentions sharing records.
Correct Answer: one new site next year instead of two
Passage Reference: one new site next year rather than two
Why this is correct: Look at the last paragraph. The writers say the evidence justifies one new site next year rather than two.
Tips: The comment asks about the writers’ own plan, so read the first sentence of the last paragraph. Notice both the number and the timing.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two new sites opening this winter: Only one site is backed, and next year rather than this winter.
- closing the current site for a review: The review in the editorial is for the new site after a year, and the current site stays open.
- a vote by residents before any site: The decision is left to council, and a residents’ vote is never proposed.
