Tories ask Ottawa to shut down harm-reduction van after assault

A steady stream of people go in and out of a parking lot on Main Street near Logan Avenue Wednesday afternoon to pick up harm-reduction supplies or snag a cup of coffee while it’s still hot from a mobile van run by Sunshine House.

The converted ambulance parks in the lot every Wednesday to Saturday to provide a space for people to use drugs in a supervised environment. Sunshine House employees who work in the van, which is called the mobile overdose prevention site, have naloxone at the ready in case someone overdoses. A black tent has been set up across the lot for people to use drugs in a supervised environment and out of the elements.

Van staff provide referrals to social agencies and hand out information on behalf of other resource centres.

Some business owners in the area say open drug use and drug-related issues persist despite the presence of the van; one woman who works in the area wants the van gone completely after she was assaulted by someone steps away from the site.

The woman said on April 22 she asked a group of people who had gathered in front of businesses and were using drugs, to leave. An argument ensued and she was punched. Her face was cut and she got a black eye.

“They’re literally sitting in front of the door doing drugs and I was made to feel like the one being disrespectful for saying something,” said the employee, who the Free Press is not naming. “I was out and punched in the face because I was trying to tell them to go up where the van was and she got in my face.”

She says Sunshine House employees intervened after the assault, but she wants the van out of the area for good.

Sunshine House is allowed to operate the drug-use van under an exemption (section 56.1) of the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Each day, 500 to 700 people are given harm-reduction supplies, have their drugs tested on a mass spectrometer and are supervised as they consume the drugs.

Sunshine House executive director Levi Foy said it was never the intention to set up shop in the lot for as long as they have.

“When we had started … it was always to build the case for supervised consumption services in the neighbourhood, and to give an idea of what those supervised consumption sites look like, and what kind of services are needed there and then to pull out,” Foy said. “We don’t want to be providing the level of service that we’re providing there, because there should be other alternatives for folks to be accessing.”

Foy said Sunshine House employees who worked in the van on the day of the incident said the assault suspect isn’t a client of theirs. The woman who complained said the van attracts trouble. She said it began parking in the lot about a year ago without warning.

The Progressive Conservatives, after hearing about the assault, wrote to the federal health minister to ask that Sunshine House’s exemption be removed and its van be pulled off the street.

Jeff Bereza, the Tory addictions critic, said he has fielded calls about the van and questions why it doesn’t have security guards working alongside it.

“This is becoming a public safety issue,” he said.

Bereza’s letter mentions a March 19 incident, in which a person who was trying to assist a person overdosing near the same location was assaulted and robbed.

Foy denied the incident had anything to do with the van because he said staff shut down early that day.

Section 56.1 exemptions can be suspended to protect public health, safety or security, or if the site or staff contravene any of the terms and conditions of the exemption, Health Canada spokesperson Karine LeBlanc said in an email. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and the department can inspect a site to ensure compliance.

LeBlanc’s email did not say whether the federal government is following up on Bereza’s request.

The worker said she emailed Bernadette Smith, the addictions minister, about her concerns but hasn’t received a response.

Smith was not available for an interview Wednesday. An emailed statement attributed to a spokesperson for Smith said public safety is the top priority for the NDP government.

At Phar Syde Convenience on Logan Avenue, which is across the street from the parking lot, owner Robel Gebreyesus said people use drugs in the store vestibule and he is forced to respond to overdoses daily.

“We’re surrounded by three shelters, so a lot of things happen. A lot of these people do stay there, and sometimes the van could be of advantage, sometimes it’s not,” he said. “They are our customers, too, and we value them, but sometimes it deters people from different areas coming here.”

Open drug use is an ongoing issue whether the van is around or not, Gebreyesus said.

The woman who was assaulted said while she’s in favour of the proposed supervised drug consumption site, it needs to operate on a 24-7 basis and have wraparound supports.

“I have nothing against street people and I have nothing against users. I’m against what (Sunshine House’s van) is doing,” she said. “It’s poorly staffed, it’s out in the open, they’re giving away free paraphernalia. They’re saying that they’re trying to encourage safe drug use, but they’re not.”

Foy recognizes the challenges presented by the van’s presence, but said Sunshine House is trying to balance the needs of everyone in the neighbourhood.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca