Tories ask feds to reject proposed supervised drug consumption site

A group of community members and the provincial opposition Tories are asking Health Canada to reject the Manitoba government’s bid for a supervised drug consumption site in a central Winnipeg neighbourhood.

The group and the Progressive Conservatives sent letters to the federal department to oppose a government-backed application for an urgent public health need site at 366 Henry Ave.

They argued the province failed to demonstrate a clear, evidence-based public health need for the site.

“These letters to Health Canada do a very effective and clear job of dismantling the government’s case to force a drug injection site onto Point Douglas residents, North Logan residents and business owners,” PC Leader Obby Khan said outside the vacant building, two blocks west of Princess Street.

He was joined by Tory addictions critic Jeff Bereza and some residents and business owners who oppose the site and feel the government is ignoring their concerns.

The NDP government is seeking to first open an urgent public health need site, which can be set up quicker than a long-term supervised drug consumption site, if approved. It also requires a federal exemption under the Canadian Drugs and Substances Act.

Urgent sites are similar to supervised consumption sites but they are temporary and are intended to respond to urgent needs in a community or region.

The application to Health Canada was submitted by the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre, which the province selected to run the facility.

“Aboriginal Health and Wellness submitted all the information required by Health Canada, with full transparency and in accordance with federal government guidelines for urgent public health needs sites,” Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said in a statement.

The government recently bought 366 Henry, last occupied by a construction company, with the aim of a January opening.

Health Canada spokesperson Charlaine Sleiman said the application is still under review.

Khan said the application does not contain a comprehensive plan nor baseline data on drug overdoses or reports of crime in the area.

Without the data or any clear metrics, it is impossible to determine if 366 Henry is an appropriate location, and it is unclear how the government can claim any anticipated health or public safety benefits or ensure accountability for the site’s performance, the PCs wrote in the letter dated Thursday.

Smith said the site was chosen because Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service data show it is where the most calls per capita for overdoses happen in the city.

The PC letter said the application lacks details about staffing levels, operating budgets, long-term funding, oversight and how certain public safety concerns will be addressed.

“The NDP government is trying to shove this building without any data or anything to support this,” Bereza told reporters.

A group of community members sent a similar letter Dec. 22. The letter also raised concerns about the site’s close proximity to services for children, and potential safety and well-being impacts.

“This is not just a core area. This is a place where kids grow, go to school,” said Isidro Romeo Zapata, who’s lived nearby for more than 35 years. “This is a solid community, and we’re going to stand for it.”

He said private security guards, presumably hired by the province, have been stationed outside 366 Henry for weeks.

Site opponents criticized the government’s consultation process and said they weren’t given enough notice.

Health Canada said it received an application that was dated Dec. 5, the same day the Manitoba government publicly announced 366 Henry as the new proposed location. The first public consultation meeting was held four days later.

The province dropped an earlier proposal for a supervised drug consumption site at 200 Disraeli Fwy., in Point Douglas, in September after opponents said the location was too close to a school and child-care centres.

Premier Wab Kinew promised a 250-metre buffer for the next proposed location.

Beverly Burkard, executive director of Winnipeg Inner City Missions, said the non-profit organization has after-school and other programs for children within 250 metres of 366 Henry.

The group’s Indigenous arts and cultural centre, which is opening soon at 285 Laura St., is zoned as a community centre, she said.

“This is about our children. It’s about their safety, and we need to hold the premier accountable for the parameters that he has put in place,” Burkard said, referring to the 250-metre buffer.

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Burkard gave reporters copies of letters from two elementary school principals who she said are concerned about the proposed site’s proximity to Winnipeg Inner City Missions’s new community hub.

Smith said the province is working with police and others on a community safety plan. The NDP has said addiction treatment and other supports will be available.

The PCs were opposed to supervised drug consumption sites while in government.

“The answer isn’t giving someone a place to do drugs. The answer is helping someone when they are in need, and that is through wraparound supports and recovery,” Khan said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.