Residents, biz owners plead with NDP to scrap plan for Henry Avenue drug site

Many of the residents and business owners who packed a town hall across the street from the proposed supervised drug consumption site in the North Logan neighbourhood on Tuesday night, voiced fierce opposition to it.

“You’ve clustered all of these sites in this area without the full needs of wraparound supports, and now you’re bringing in a safe consumption site — another piecemeal, unplanned project going on — without the No. 1 thing that’s needed: housing,” said George Valentim, whose family owns Four Seasons Auto Body at 309 Stanley St., a block from the proposed site at 366 Henry Ave.

“We’re decreasing the level of safety and livable comfort in this area.”

Just down the street from the shop is Siloam Mission, which provides meals and services to the city’s homeless population.

Dozens of attendees at the community-led town hall at Pampanga Restaurant & Banquet Hall, at 349 Henry Ave., had similar concerns during the two-hour question-and-answer session, which was tense, at times.

“I would ask the government to pump the brakes. There is no plan. That’s the sad part. You have an idea of a plan, maybe. If it hasn’t worked in other areas in Canada, why in the world do we think it would work here?” one resident asked.

He finished by saying, “I’m very disappointed at the lack of answers. Every question has been met with platitudes,” and then walked out.

The four-member panel included Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith; Winnipeg police Insp. Helen Peters; Matt Halchakar of the Downtown Community Safety Partnership; and Joseph Fourre, a former addict whose son Harlan died by fentanyl poisoning in 2023.

“We don’t want you to feel unsafe in your community… We already know you’re feeling unsafe, and we want to bring safety to the community. We hear your concerns.”

“We don’t want you to feel unsafe in your community,” Smith said. “We already know you’re feeling unsafe, and we want to bring safety to the community. We hear your concerns.”

Another resident asked at what point would negative feedback disqualify the area from hosting the drug site. Smith sidestepped the question by suggesting Manitobans gave the government a “strong mandate” to open a supervised consumption site.

Fourre told the meeting that residents in other neighbourhoods are relieved because a supervised consumption site on Henry Avenue would attract users there, and away from their communities.

“The potential of this community is being lost by the services we’re putting into it,” he said. “We know from other cities that this doesn’t work.”

Fourre said everyone in the room wants to see addicts get well, but the right system — one not solely based on harm reduction — must be in place.

Kate Kehler, the executive director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, agreed details of the province’s plan must be ironed out, but said harm reduction isn’t the enemy, and it has to be located somewhere.

“We don’t have a plan yet from the province; we have a location,” Kehler said. “I’d love to hear those details, but they’re here, they’re listening. This is one step toward getting the site that we need that will actually save lives.”

Gladys Miranda, who spoke alongside her sister Kelly on behalf of their parents, Aladino and Lourdes Miranda, the owners of Pampanga, said the family is concerned a supervised consumption site would scare away customers.

“We are deeply worried about how the placement of the site will affect us,” Miranda said. “Our restaurant is not just a business, it’s our parents’ livelihood, their retirement plan, and the embodiment of decades of hard work.”

Smith reiterated that the location was chosen based on overdose data, but acknowledged residents are afraid to leave their homes.

Some who spoke said they feel trapped in the neighbourhood, unable to move because their homes are worth too little to sell. Others described violent encounters with people who appeared to be under the influence of drugs.

Beverly Burkard, who operates the Winnipeg Inner City Mission nearby, said her opposition is based on child safety. The mission is set to launch an Indigenous arts and cultural centre that will have activities and programs for children.

Burkard proposed an alternative, suggesting the province make use of underused space on Main Street between Logan and Higgins avenues, including the former Manwin Hotel site, which closed at the beginning of the year.

“I’ve watched that street grow in services and need and the number of individuals that are publicly there,” she said, noting the former Main Meats & Groceteria has closed and is up for sale. “It’s the nucleus of that area, with all the support services right there. So we’re asking people to walk less, and we’re making it more obvious for them.”

Burkard feels the province has made its decision, adding that an aide to Smith invited her to the minister’s office to begin discussions about a safety plan.

“I am not interested in meeting with the minister, because my site will never be safe if there is a safe consumption site within the 250 metres,” Burkard said.

“The proposed site adds significant new challenges to existing ones that have gone unheeded by the city in the past, leaving me to wonder if we have a voice at all,” Burkard said.

Progressive Conservative MLA Jeff Bereza told attendees supervised consumption sites don’t work.

“This government doesn’t want to hear from community members and answer their questions, they’re just checking the boxes so they can tell Ottawa they’ve had consultations,” he said. “This isn’t help. It’s keeping people trapped in addiction.”

At the end of the meeting, Lourdes Miranda stood up and pleaded with the minister to abandon the proposed site.

The proposed site is the province’s second choice after 200 Disraeli Fwy. was scrapped due to opposition by Point Douglas residents.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca