Kelowna mayor asks feds to shut consumption site, says police sent there 3,400 times
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The City of Kelowna is calling on federal authorities to shut a supervised consumption site in the city’s downtown, saying police have been called about problems there thousands of times in five years and it has had “significant impacts” on crime rates.
Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas says in a letter to Health Minister Marjorie Michel that Health Canada should deny renewal of the authorization for the downtown site on Pandosy Street next year.
Dyas says in the letter sent on behalf of the city council that the decision wasn’t made lightly since the city recognizes the “devastating impacts” of the toxic drug crisis, but the status quo isn’t working
The letter says there have been more than 3,400 RCMP calls for service related to the site and its surrounding area since it opened in 2021, making it a “persistent concentration point” for public concerns.
Dyas says in an interview there have been about 380 medical incidents attended by the Kelowna fire department at the site since 2021, and that hiring additional RCMP officers, bylaw officers and firefighters to deal with the situation represents a “major downloading” of expenses on the municipality.
The letter says municipal staff have worked to mitigate impacts, but despite years of engagement, the level of public safety concerns around the site “remain unacceptable.”
Dr. Sue Pollock, Interior Health’s chief medical health officer, says in a statement that the challenges facing downtown Kelowna are complex, requiring collaboration among health-care providers, local government, law enforcement and the community.
She says the site saw more than 37,000 visits and responded to 75 overdose events without a fatality in 2025, and that these lives may otherwise have been lost to the toxic drug supply.
Health Canada did not immediately respond to an interview request.
Kelowna RCMP say they cannot comment or confirm the number of calls to the site.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2026