Toronto’s board of health has voted unanimously to approve three recommended safe injection sites for the city with an eye to saving lives.

The city’s medical office of health says there has never been an overdose death at a safe injection site around the world.

Safe injection is legal in Canada as long as the federal government grants approval and Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott says the supervised sites are among a number of strategies the government has put forward to cope with drug abuse and overdose deaths.

Toronto city council still needs to ratify the board’s recommendation with its own vote.