Premier says location of supervised drug site not set in stone

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This article was published 06/12/2024 (274 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Wab Kinew says the province intends to consult with neighbours of the proposed supervised drug site in Point Douglas and may “go in a different direction” if it can’t ensure the location is safe.

At an unrelated media event Friday, Kinew responded to neighbours’ concerns that they’ve not been consulted about plans for the 200 Disraeli Freeway site, which was confirmed Wednesday.

He promised they will have their say and his government will listen.

“This is not a foregone conclusion that the site is going to open unless it’s safe to do so here,” the premier said. “It will not open until we’re satisfied that it is safe for the surrounding community.”

Kinew, whose government announced in July that $727,000 had been earmarked to support the facility, said he understands their concerns. “When I hear about supervised consumption, at the very least my eyebrow gets raised.”

He promised the government will work with police, community members and organizations to make sure the site is safe and that there’s sufficient enforcement and foot patrols in the area.

“There can’t be any prostitution or drug dealing in the area,” said Kinew, whose government is taking advice from other jurisdictions that have supervised consumption sites. “Whether it’s just folks passing out outside, drug dealers or human traffickers trying to prey on people in the area,” it’s important to have a strong response and enforcement, he said.

When news broke about the proposed location, one neighbour said he worries it would escalate crime in the area. Johnny Vernaus, owner of Vernaus Auto Body, erected a two-metre-tall fence around his lot to deter thieves. He told the Free Press Wednesday he and fellow business owners are “not beyond a class-action lawsuit” to oppose the plans.

On Friday, the Winnipeg Police Service said its role hasn’t yet been established. The government must satisfy numerous conditions before Health Canada approves the site, which is across the street from a high school, the police service said in an email Friday.

The application process typically takes more than two years, and requires everything from descriptions of the proposed site and local conditions to details regarding policies, procedures, personnel, finances and a comprehensive community consultation report, the police service said.

“This typically requires community partners to be contacted.”

Those partners include first responders (police, fire, and paramedics), Indigenous and faith-based organizations, municipal staff, elected officials from all three levels of government, health care providers, social services, and neighbourhood organizations.

The premier said there is no target date to open a site in Winnipeg but he expects Health Canada will approve it more quickly than the typical two-year wait.

“This is about saving lives,” Kinew said. “More people are dying of overdoses than before the pandemic,” said the premier, who campaigned on a promise to open a supervised consumption site to address the rise in overdose deaths. The province has consulted with organizations and will consult with neighbours, he said.

“We’re going to listen. If it’s not safe at the end of the day for the surrounding neighbourhood, then we won’t move forward.”

The premier said the province has a moral responsibility to respond to the drug crisis. Manitoba recorded 323 suspected overdoses or drug poisonings from Jan. 1 to July 31, as per unofficial data from the provincial chief medical examiner.

“We have one tool in the basket that we’re not using right now that doctors tell us will save lives. We think it’s important that we use it.”

It plans to forge ahead with a consumption site regardless of the outcome of next year’s federal election. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who is riding high in the polls, has promised to shut down such sites and called them “drug Dens.”

“I know the issue has been heavily, heavily politicized, but we’re moving ahead with this because the experts tell us that this is one way to save lives.”

The founder of a charitable organization that helps people with addictions access treatment and housing said it’s important to get support from neighbours right from the start.

“I think they’re going to find it was extremely unwise and not very strategic to go forward with this without consulting the community,” said Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links.

“I don’t think it’s too late to start meeting with the community and listening to their concerns and engaging with them so that they can feel like they’re a part of the project,” Willis said.

“They may have some ideas to help mitigate some of the challenges that people fear: that it is going to bring a lot of unwanted activity into the neighborhood around it.”

Willis said there’s “a very high potential” the site could attract more drug dealers who sell toxic drugs. She said the proposed site likely won’t affect her organization or the people it helps.

“I know that nobody on our side of the river is going to pack up their drugs and toddle off down to a safe consumption site to use,” Willis said. “They’re going to continue to use what they use, and people use everywhere — in their homes, in encampments,” she said.

The premier said the supervised consumption site will be used as a “navigation centre to get people out of encampments.”

“You’re going to see us go from camp to camp to tell people ‘There are 30 days that we’re going to work with you to find a new place to live.’” he told reporters.

The first step will be getting help at the Disraeli site, he said.

“The next step after that is to get into new housing facilities that we’re in the process of acquiring, and then onto Manitoba Housing with wraparound supports and a pathway to well-being.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca