Vancouver mayor disappointed by new location for overdose prevention site

Advertisement

Advertise with us

VANCOUVER - The mayor of Vancouver says the city is disappointed about the new location of an overdose prevention site in the downtown core.

Read this article for free:


By clicking the button above, an account will be created and you will begin to receive some of our recommended newsletters. You may opt out of any newsletter by visiting your Email and Communication Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of any email.

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $1.44 a week*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $5.77 plus GST every four weeks. After 52 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/04/2024 (929 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER – The mayor of Vancouver says the city is disappointed about the new location of an overdose prevention site in the downtown core.

Ken Sim says in a news release that the city was not consulted on the relocation of Thomus Donaghy OPS to Howe Street, and the site should have been moved to the nearby St. Paul’s Hospital instead.

Vancouver Coastal Health said in a statement earlier Wednesday that the site had officially opened at its new location on the 1000 block of Howe Street, though there is no signage.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. The mayor of Vancouver says the city is disappointed about the new location of an overdose prevention site in the downtown core. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. The mayor of Vancouver says the city is disappointed about the new location of an overdose prevention site in the downtown core. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

It says Thomus Donaghy OPS initially opened in March 2021 but the lease for its Seymour Street location expired last month.

The health authority says daily visits to the site are up 150 per cent since it opened, and it has reversed more than 200 drug overdoses.

Sim says that despite his surprise, he appreciates that there are several factors that must be balanced when selecting locations for overdose prevention sites.

“We look forward to learning more from Vancouver Coastal Health about how they plan to operate this site in a way that provides these important services while mitigating impacts on Vancouver neighbourhoods like Yaletown,” Sim says in the release.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2024.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Movie theatre reopening generates excitement in Selkirk

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Preview

Movie theatre reopening generates excitement in Selkirk

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Yesterday at 6:51 PM CDT

Selkirk got an extra dose of lights, cameras and action this weekend.

And ribbon cutting — for the grand reopening of the city’s sole theatre.

“It’s fantastic,” Mayor Larry Johannson said. “The sky’s the limit.”

The Garry Theatre now operates under a non-profit charity. It’s been closed since 2021, when Landmark Cinemas left the city.

Read
Yesterday at 6:51 PM CDT

MMF eyes Brandon for expansion of its real estate holdings

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Preview

MMF eyes Brandon for expansion of its real estate holdings

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Yesterday at 6:08 PM CDT

The Manitoba Métis Federation is ramping up its Brandon presence and it’s eyeing buildings downtown.

MMF President David Chartrand said the federation has placed a $2 million offer on two sites Assiniboine Credit Union owns.

It submitted an offer last week for a three-storey office and former branch at 220 10th St., and 1020 Princess Ave., Chartrand said.

Assiniboine Credit Union didn’t respond to an interview request by end of day Saturday.

Read
Yesterday at 6:08 PM CDT

Cool runnings

Free Press photojournalist John Woods 1 minute read Preview

Cool runnings

Free Press photojournalist John Woods 1 minute read 7:39 PM CDT

Sunday marked the 14th year of the annual WFPS Run in support of the Heart & Stroke Foundation in Winnipeg.

Organizers estimate more than 6,200 runners would be lining up bright and early at the Canadian Mennonite University campus to compete in one of the 5 km, 10 km or half marathon events.

Read
7:39 PM CDT

Backstreet Boys’ 12-show Toronto run offers millennials a ticket to simpler times

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Backstreet Boys’ 12-show Toronto run offers millennials a ticket to simpler times

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:01 PM CDT

When Chelsea Smith heard the Backstreet Boys were coming to Toronto, she had a simple message for the five men who soundtracked her childhood.

“Here's my credit card, take all my money.”

The 35-year-old Vancouver fan wasn’t bluffing. Having already travelled to Las Vegas to see her teenybopper crushes, she's now preparing to fly across the country for two Toronto concerts, spending roughly $600 on tickets alone.

And she's hardly the only millennial willing to pay a tidy sum to party like it’s 1999.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 3:01 PM CDT

Hurricanes’ pressure too much for Jets

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read Preview

Hurricanes’ pressure too much for Jets

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read Yesterday at 8:13 PM CDT

Oh, how the tables have turned.

Nikolaj Ehlers spent 10 years making a big impact for the Winnipeg Jets, scoring 234 goals along the way. On Saturday, he got his first against his former team.

And it was a doozy.

Ehlers’ power-play tally early in the third period snapped a tie and proved to be the game-winner in a 3-2 victory for the Carolina Hurricanes in front of 14,415 at Canada Life Centre.

Read
Yesterday at 8:13 PM CDT

New twist in Hellebuyck saga, suspension ends Friday

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read Preview

New twist in Hellebuyck saga, suspension ends Friday

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read Yesterday at 6:58 PM CDT

Connor Hellebuyck has played the reverse Uno card.

What we don’t know is if he has any intention of coming back to friendly Manitoba or if this is simply the latest attempt to put the Winnipeg Jets feet to the flames in an effort to move him to an American market.

Prior to puck drop on Saturday afternoon, when the Jets were getting set to host the Carolina Hurricanes, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that the three-time Vezina Trophy winner and one-time Hart Trophy winner informed the organization he wanted to return on Oct. 2 and that his holdout has now shifted to a team-imposed suspension that can officially come to an end Friday.

The Jets were able to extend his suspension (for failing to report to training camp) because of a clause in the collective bargaining agreement, Article 15.13, subsection (c)(v), which reads: “If a player who has not received permission to be absent from training camp returns to the club, he shall be subject to a disciplinary suspension of reasonable length.”

Read
Yesterday at 6:58 PM CDT