Supervised consumption site long overdue

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/07/2024 (417 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It appears at long last Manitoba will get its first supervised consumption site.

Manitoba’s Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith on Friday announced $727,000 for the proposed site, which will be located in downtown Winnipeg. It will be an Indigenous-led operation run by the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre and is expected to open in 2025.

It is good news for the many people struggling with addictions in Manitoba.

Evidence from around the world, including 40 supervised consumption sites that exist in various parts of Canada, show the sites save lives by allowing people to consume their drugs under the observation of trained staff. The sites also typically offer people access to addictions treatment and connect them with other vital front-line services.

Manitoba’s site will go further by offering drug users primary medical care and mental health counselling, as well as amenities such as laundry facilities. The site will be designed not only to prevent fatal overdoses, but also to help people get the treatment and health care they need. It’s believed to be the first Indigenous-led supervised consumption site in Canada.

While the exact location of the proposed site has yet to be determined, organizers say it will be in the city’s core area and likely west of Main Street. It is expected that a suitable building will be chosen within the next few months.

This site is long overdue. Manitoba has fallen behind other provinces such as British Columbia and Alberta in establishing supervised consumption sites. The proposed site can’t come soon enough. There were a record 445 drug-related deaths in Manitoba in 2023, up from 418 the year before and 432 in 2021. There were 54 drug-related deaths alone in Manitoba in December 2023.

It is a crisis that requires a comprehensive response by governments, not-for-profit agencies and the public.

Manitoba’s proposed supervised consumption site will not be without its detractors, including the Opposition Progressive Conservatives who, when in government up until last year, opposed the sites. They said funding should instead be used for treatment, a false dichotomy used by many opponents of supervised consumption sites.

Providing accessible treatment options to people suffering from addictions can be done while also offering them a safe place to consume drugs where staff can intervene in the case of an overdose. It is not an either-or proposition.

Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is perhaps the most ardent opponent of supervised consumption sites, calling them “drug dens” created by “wacko politicians” and “radical bureaucrats.”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

Wednesdays

A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom.

Sign up for Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Despite the overwhelming evidence from around the world that they save lives and help connect people with much-needed treatment options, Poilievre has pledged that if his party wins government he will cut federal funding for the sites and use the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to shut some of them down.

That would be a massive step backwards in society’s efforts to reduce fatal overdoses and help people seek the treatment they need.

It’s a challenge Manitoba’s new, proposed site may face when it opens its doors next year, likely the same year as a federal election. It remains to be seen how far Poilievre would go in shuttering the life-saving centres.

For now, the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre and the Manitoba government should move forward with the project with a sense of urgency.

Times is of the essence. Lives are at stake.