Law-enforcement part of supervised-consumption site plan, police say

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This article was published 16/04/2025 (183 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police have assured Point Douglas residents that law enforcement is part of a public-safety plan for Manitoba’s first supervised drug consumption site.

A buffer zone is not part of the proposed site, which some residents fear could escalate crime in the area or attract drug dealers or people who exploit the vulnerable.

“If there is trafficking, open-air drug use, exploitation… we would be doing enforcement — full stop — to address those concerns,” Supt. Bonnie Emerson, who oversees community engagement for the Winnipeg Police Service, told the Free Press Wednesday.

Along with Chief Gene Bowers and other senior WPS officers, Emerson attended a community-led town hall meeting Tuesday night, where some residents voiced concerns.

“It was really important to clarify the enforcement piece… because I don’t want there to be a perception that this is decriminalization, that open-air drug use is going to be acceptable,” she said.

A building at 200 Disraeli Fwy., just east of Main Street, is being eyed for the site, which was an NDP campaign promise in 2023.

Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith told the town hall’s audience that a final decision hasn’t been made regarding a location.

The community-organized meeting was held after some Point Douglas residents or business owners complained that the government’s consultation process was lacking.

If Health Canada gives approval, the site will be operated by the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre, a community health agency.

The site will be for people who bring their own drugs. It will not supply users with drugs.

The experiences of supervised drug consumption sites and police services in other cities are being looked at.

Smith said the facility will have a “made-in-Manitoba” approach with on-site supports, including a Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine Clinic, primary health care and mental-health services. Staff will help with housing or income assistance needs.

She said the province is working with police and other partners.

Emerson said WPS is supportive of a health-led approach and not criminalizing addiction.

“If there are safety issues being raised or being seen, then we will be responding to address,” she said. “We have seen that a nimble response and the adaptability does have positive effects, so I think being engaged at the beginning and throughout the process is going to give us more informed outcomes.”

The NDP government’s 2025 budget includes $1.3 million to Shared Health to contract the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg to operate the site. The province said it will be the first Indigenous-led facility of its kind in Canada.

In question period Wednesday, Progressive Conservative addictions critic Carrie Hiebert challenged Smith to disclose other locations that are being considered for the site.

“(Tuesday) night, in an important town hall community meeting, we heard from Point Douglas residents who said overwhelmingly that the drug-injection site is not what they want in their community,” Hiebert, the MLA for Morden-Winkler, told the legislature.

Smith did not say if other locations are being considered. She cited a town hall attendee who spoke in favour of the site.

“We’re taking a harm-reduction approach so that we can get people to the supports that they need,” the minister said.

The proposed location is in Smith’s Point Douglas constituency.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca