Back to square one for drug consumption site: minister

The Manitoba government will have to submit a new application to Health Canada for a supervised drug consumption site after pulling its first application, for a site in Point Douglas, owing to stiff community opposition.

“I’d like for the site to be open today, but we want to make sure we’re getting this right, and consultation is a part of that,” said Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith on Thursday.

When asked if the province would essentially be starting from scratch, Smith said it was “a process.”

One day earlier, Premier Wab Kinew said the proposed site at 200 Disraeli Fwy. was a non-starter and the government was “looking at other locations.”

The application for that location was submitted in November 2024 and remained listed on the Health Canada website as of Thursday, which said the application was in the “review stage.”

Smith said it will be removed.

“You put in your application, you list the address, you start the consultations, and then, of course, there’s questions that come back… we’ll continue to go through their process,” she said.

Kinew said Wednesday the Point Douglas option was being abandoned because community members were concerned it was too close to a day care and a high school.

Health Canada spokesperson Marie-Pier Burelle said the federal body works with the applicant when “key information” in an application changes during the review period.

“When key information regarding a proposed (supervised consumption site) changes significantly during the application review process, the application may be withdrawn and a new one submitted with updated information about the proposed site,” she said in an email.

The Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg will still be heading the consumption site when it opens, Smith said. No one from the centre responded to requests for comment Thursday.

The Tories said the sudden axing of the proposed location of Manitoba’s first supervised consumption site has raised questions.

Deputy leader Jeff Bereza said he’s thankful Point Douglas residents lobbied against the site, but he wonders why it was chosen in the first place.

“Why was the location of a school across from a drug site a good idea last year, but not today?” the Portage la Prairie MLA told reporters Thursday.

Kinew said Wednesday they would “draw a 250-metre radius” around any potential location to ensure no schools or day cares crossed that line.

Bereza said the NDP needs to make public any other sites that are under consideration.

“Let’s be honest, (Kinew) already has them identified,” he said.

Smith said any new location would be revealed when the province submits a new application to Health Canada; she wouldn’t say if any new locations are being considered.

Last week, Smith said the site would be operational before the end of the NDP government’s first term, in 2027 — a far cry from her comments in July, when she said the province planned to open it by the end of 2025.

She wouldn’t say if the timeline shifted after 200 Disraeli Fwy. option was taken off the table.

The Tories oppose a supervised consumption site; instead, they prefer addicts be treated. Bereza said there are prime spaces available across the province for treatment centres.

Inner-city advocate Sel Burrows said the province has an uphill battle after pressure from Point Douglas residents proved successful.

“I feel very proud of the Point Douglas people. It’s an organized community, it’s an inner-city community, but it’s more organized than other inner-city communities, and they have a voice and they can respond,” he said.

“I just think that the premier has a very difficult job ahead of him, finding any community that will accept it.”

— with files from Carol Sanders

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca