Detox centre permit blunder causes commotion at legislature

A clerical error involving a proposed detox centre had the Tories pointing fingers, the province defending itself and the city clarifying what it called a mistake made externally on Tuesday.

It began with the Progressive Conservatives calling an afternoon news conference at the Manitoba Legislature, where Opposition Leader Obby Khan accused the NDP government of misleading the public after a City of Winnipeg permit appeared to show the province planning to open 20 “safe consumption rooms” at 190 Disraeli Fwy.

Minutes after the PCs alerted media about the news conference, the city said it had corrected the error after it had been pointed out to them by the Point Douglas Residents Association.

“We recently granted a temporary use permit for 20 sobering units at 190 Disraeli Freeway. Some plumbing work was required to be completed as part of this permit,” the city said in a release later Tuesday.

“There was a clerical error by an external party when filing the permit application wherein the facility type was entered as “consumption unit” rather than “sobering unit.”

The city said the error was made through its online permit system, and that the registry had been corrected around 1 p.m., 90 minutes before Khan held court in the legislature’s rotunda.

The corrected permit, issued Oct. 15, is consistent with the province’s recent proposal for a 72-hour detox centre, which would feature 20 sobering rooms in Winnipeg’s Point Douglas neighbourhood.

“To confirm, no supervised consumption or mixed-use facility is planned or has been approved at 190 Disraeli,” the city’s statement said.

Khan had called on Premier Wab Kinew to clarify the situation.

“We’re asking Wab Kinew to come clean with Manitobans,” Khan said. “What is being built at 190 Disraeli?”

Plans for a supervised consumption site — once proposed next door at 200 Disraeli — were shelved in September after community backlash, with Kinew announcing his government would begin searching for a new location.

Khan accused the NDP of changing the permit after the news conference, though he acknowledged he had not spoken with the city’s permitting office, nor had he heard that the province had received Health Canada approval required to operate a supervised consumption site.

Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith, in an emailed statement later Tuesday, said the Tories need to stop playing games.

“We’ve been clear, 190 Disraeli is the site of a sobering centre, not a supervised consumption site,” Smith said. “The city has already corrected an external party error on the permit, and our focus remains on making sure Manitobans get the help they need to keep themselves and others safe. We’re working to get this site up and running as soon as possible, provided the PCs pass Bill 48 without delay.”

The city said it reached out to the Point Douglas Residents Association to acknowledge and clarify the mistake.

— with files from Nicole Buffie

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca