Tories decry limited hours of drug site, despite repeatedly opposing it

The Tory party, which has opposed a supervised drug consumption site, was critical Friday about limited operating hours for the soon-to-open site because it said addictions don’t follow a weekday schedule.

The site, set to open later this month at 366 Henry Ave., is expected to operate from Tuesday to Thursday between 11 a.m. and 6:45 p.m.

Jeff Bereza, the party’s addictions critic, says drug users will be without support for much of the week.

“Where are these people going to go?” asked Bereza, who has repeatedly said he supports more treatment options instead of a supervised consumption site. “It seems like this government, their only path is to keep people using drugs.”

Bereza believes people will want to use the site on days it is closed.

“It is so thoughtless of this government, and so thoughtless of the poor people that are in this addictions,” he said. “We need to be thinking about how we get people out of these addictions, not how we look at keeping them involved in it.”

The operating hours were disclosed in a public job posting for a nursing position at the site, which will be operated by Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg, Inc.

The NDP government says the hours are based on consultations that identified peak demand. The conclusion is supported by an outreach organization that operates a mobile overdose prevention service during part of the week.

“As this supervised consumption site is the first of its kind in Manitoba, we will work with Aboriginal Health and Wellness to regularly assess the hours of operation and work with mobile overdose prevention site (run by Sunshine House) to co-ordinate the most impact as possible,” Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith said in a statement on Friday.

“Now more than ever, we are seeing that a supervised consumption site is necessary. We saw from the previous government the incredible toll and suffering that comes from having a government that refuses to take the overdose crisis seriously and have a harm-reduction approach. Our government is taking this issue seriously by advancing harm-reduction measures while also expanding access to treatment, including the creation of more than 1,500 treatment spaces and the recent opening of a new RAAM Clinic in The Pas.”

For the past several years, Sunshine House has operated its mobile site from a parking lot at 361 Main St., Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.

Levi Foy, executive director of Sunshine House, said the highest level of consumption is during the period the safer consumption site is expected to operate.

“I know for us, and I know for Aboriginal Health and Wellness, the design of the plans is really presented to the community who would be using the site, and presenting the reality of what we’re able to do,” Foy said. “I think for both organizations, the community has said these hours would be the peak hours where you would get the most bang for your buck.”

Foy said concerns about limited operation are legitimate, but staffing challenges and funding realities make around-the-clock service difficult.

“It’s really difficult to find staff,” he said. “Overnights, there’s potential safety risks that play a part.”

Foy said the opening of the site marks an important step, allowing the mobile site to expand its reach and provide support elsewhere in the city.

“This will allow us a lot more flexibility in what we’re able to do, and within the means of what we’re able to do.”

Sunshine House plans to adjust its mobile operations to fill gaps and work alongside centre staff to direct people using the mobile site to the safer consumption site a few blocks away.

Foy said the mobile site was always intended to identify unmet community needs and help connect people with organizations better equipped to meet them.

“Now we can do other things to kind of fill the gaps that having two mobile overdose prevention vehicles can potentially do,” he said.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca