Criticism, concerns surface after location selected for province’s first supervised consumption site Disraeli Freeway spot chosen; target opening date unknown By: Chris Kitching Posted: 11:56 AM CST Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 Last Modified: 7:29 PM CST Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 Updates

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A South Point Douglas building has been chosen as the proposed location of Manitoba’s first supervised drug consumption site, drawing mixed reactions, including concerns about safety and criticism of the government’s consultation process.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith confirmed Wednesday that 200 Disraeli Fwy., just east of Main Street, is being eyed for the site, subject to federal approval and other considerations.

Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand, who supports a safe consumption site, said the facility must offer addictions treatment, housing and other supports to visitors to have success.

“Are (addictions treatment services) going to be layered in there, so the person coming there has a chance? Not just give the person a safe drug, but a chance to be able to break free?” he said.

The MMF’s main office is located near the proposed location. Chartrand and Smith are scheduled to meet soon to discuss the proposal.

Chartrand agreed with Asagwara that a lot of supports already exist within a small radius of the proposed site, but he said encampments in the area are a sign of gaps in systems.

“We aren’t proceeding until the site is safe and secure,” Smith told reporters. “We will have a big police presence. We will also have community safety patrols. We are making sure that everything is in place to ensure the community will be better off than it is now.”

A targeted opening date has not yet been revealed. A supervised site was one of the NDP government’s 2023 election promises. The province announced $727,000 in funding in July to support the facility.

Smith said the province is working with the Winnipeg Police Service and others on a community safety plan, including enforcement of any exploitation or drug dealing near the site.

There are plans for a 2.5-metre-tall fence around the building, part of which is already home to N’Dinawemak — Our Relatives’ Place, an Indigenous-led, 24-7 homeless shelter and support centre.

“That area is going to be more secure than it is now, and you’re going to see less people using outside,” Smith said, noting unsupervised drug use is happening “all over” the area, which is in her Point Douglas constituency

Smith said the government is working on a plan to find housing for homeless people in the area.

The site will be operated by the Aboriginal Health & Wellness Centre of Winnipeg Inc., with addictions treatment, mental-health supports and primary health-care services available. AHWC deferred comment to the province.

“We’re coming from a compassionate, caring place. The goal is to lead people to recovery,” Smith said.

She faced questions over the NDP government’s decision to choose a location for the injection site before community consultations were completed, and whether it is a backtrack from previous comments by Premier Wab Kinew.

In July, Kinew said the site probably can’t be near a school or daycare. The proposed location is across from Argyle Alternative High School, and close to child-care centres.

“We’ve assured them we will not proceed unless that is a safe and secure site,” Smith said of consultations with Winnipeg School Division Supt. Matt Henderson.

Henderson said the school will consult families later this month to collect questions or concerns that can be forwarded to the province.

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“If the site can support folks in the community, we see benefits at this point around mitigating some of the current safety concerns,” he wrote in an email. “But until we see a fully fleshed out plan, we cannot provide further comment.”

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he would close all supervised drug consumption sites near schools, if he becomes prime minister.

Smith would not say if the province has a second location in mind, in case plans for 200 Disraeli do not proceed.

Asagwara said the location is in an area that is already home to existing “community level” supports for people who are homeless or struggling with addictions.

Manitoba’s Tories are opposed to a safe consumption site. MLA Carrie Hiebert, the Opposition’s critic for housing, addictions and homelessness, said she’s heard from concerned neighbours, including the Point Douglas Residents Committee, who say they were left out of the site-selection process.

“If we’re going to put in something like this, that’s going to alter the neighbourhood and really change the face of the neighbourhood, I think people need to be consulted,” Hiebert said.

“Provinces across the country — Ontario and other ones, as well — are closing consumption sites. There’s a reason for that — it’s safety. You can put up eight-foot walls, but people still have to get into the building. What happens outside those walls? Those are concerns that the community has.”

The PDRC said it was informed Oct. 26 the site would be in the “downtown Point Douglas area,” but it was not given a specific location. The group held a community meeting Nov. 14.

It is worried residents will be silenced because federal rules for consultation only apply to “stakeholders” within 500 metres of any proposed supervised consumption site.

“Those who live and work within the affected area are given no voice whatsoever,” a letter from the committee reads.

Johnny Vernaus, owner of Vernaus Auto Body, is opposed to a safe consumption site. He said he was not consulted, despite his shop being across the street from the proposed location.

He fears the site will exacerbate existing issues in the area, including crime. He installed a two-metre-tall fence around his lot to deter thieves.

“You shouldn’t have (the site) anywhere in Winnipeg or make it easier to get needles,” Vernaus said. “I’d like to see people get help. I’m not for enabling people or making it easier.”

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Vernaus, who owns multiple properties in the area, fears a safe consumption site could lower property values. He and fellow business owners are “not beyond a class-action lawsuit” to oppose the plans, he said.

“If (the government) ever consults us, I will bring that up,” Vernaus said. “I’m disappointed they’ve already picked the place, and they haven’t even talked to us.”

Tejinder Bharj, who owns Mr. Auto Glass next to the proposed site, was not aware of the plans. He thinks there’s s a “50-50” chance the site will help the neighbourhood.

“It’s going to increase the traffic no matter what,” he said.

Bharj said he regularly finds needles on the ground outside his shop.

“We are already fed up with this. (When customers) come for the first time, they are concerned. They are scared,” he said.

In a statement, Our Lady of Lourdes Slovenian Catholic Church, located across the street from 200 Disraeli, said its council and members were not consulted.

Ahmed Jibo, pastor of nearby Pilgrim Baptist Church, said his church wants to be part of the solution for the neighbourhood.

“We say that is a good idea if it is helping others,” he said of the proposed site. “Whatever is good for the community, is good for the church.”

The province confirmed 200 Disraeli as the proposed location, after the address was listed on a Health Canada website of proposed supervised drug consumption sites.

The federal agency received an application from AHWC on Nov. 21 requesting the address be exempt from Section 56.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The application is in the screening stage.

“Applicants must provide evidence of local conditions supporting the need for the site, including any information related to substance use and overdoses in the area,” a Health Canada spokesperson wrote in an email. “This may include an analysis of the intended health and safety impact of a proposed site on the target client population, general public, and local area.”

Applicants must explain how they will address concerns raised during consultations, the spokesperson said.

Mayor Scott Gillingham and Point Douglas Coun. Vivian Santos told reporters they had not yet seen any details about the proposal.

— With files from Tyler Searle, Malak Abas, Joyanne Pursaga and Carol Sanders

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.