‘In the dark’: Surrounding community speaking out on proposed supervised consumption site

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Peggy

It was revealed on Wednesday that the proposed location of a supervised consumption site has been set for the Disraeli Freeway, and now members in the surrounding community are speaking out.

According to the application page for Health Canada, an application was submitted on Nov. 21 for the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre to be located at 200 Disraeli Fwy. The application is still in the screening stage.

However, some groups in the area feel their concerns about the location were ignored.

Children’s House, a Montessori school that provides nursery and kindergarten programs for kids, is around 500 metres away from the site location.

School officials said they don’t know what it means for them.

“We still feel like we’re in the dark about that,” said Leslie Loofbourow, the chair of the Children’s House Board of Directors.

“There wasn’t a transparent conversation around what the true risks are like. We were bringing those to the table, and we were told those aren’t risk, those aren’t concerns.”

The Manitoba Metis Federation’s building is on Henry Avenue just metres away, and President David Chartrand said consultation was lacklustre.

“I’m not opposed to consumption sites, I support them. But the problem is, I want to see the plan. If you had really consulted me, you will show me the full plan,” said Chartrand.

While a supervised consumption site can potentially save someone’s life from overdose, he questions what happens next for that person.

“You’ve still got the rest of the 23 hours and probably 55 minutes to live, and where do you go? Where do you live? Where do you sleep?”

Manitoba Housing, Addictions, and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said there is already unsupervised drug consumption happening in the area.

She noted the province wouldn’t move ahead with the site unless they can be certain the community will be better off than it is now.

“There will be less needles on the ground. And this will lead people to primary health care, to addictions treatment, to mental health support,” Smith said Wednesday.

However, the school said their concerns seem irrelevant to the government, and the consultation meeting was only a formality, and they had no voice in the process.

Chartrand would also like the government to rethink the decision of the location and do more consultation.

A spokesperson for the province said the government values feedback from all stakeholders in the community, which is why consultations are continuing.

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