Province criticized for lack of consultations on proposed drug consumption site in Winnipeg

An addictions specialist suggests Winnipeggers fearful about a safe drug consumption site potentially opening along the Disraeli Freeway take a moment to breathe.

The fears about what could happen in a neighbourhood with such a facility haven’t materialized in other Canadian locations where sites have opened, said Ginette Poulin, former medical director at the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba and now at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Ontario.

“It’s normal that people have worries or uncertainties around what that means for them,” she said, citing concerns such as the risk of increased violence, discarded needles and people loitering in the area.

The same fears were raised when addiction treatment centres were first being introduced, but the worries quickly vanished, she said.

“In fact, people are already around the areas, and this helps to reduce those harms. It helps to bring a place where people can bring back their needles [so they aren’t being discarded],” Poulin said.

“We don’t see an increase in violence in those areas, because people are connected into care and connected to treatment.”

The province confirmed Wednesday the planned location of a long-promised supervised consumption site — the first in Manitoba — is a vacant space at 200 Disraeli Fwy., at the edge of Winnipeg ‘s South Point Douglas neighbourhood.

The facility would be operated by the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre in a building shared with N’Dinawemak — Our Relatives’ Place, a winter warm-up shelter that opened three years ago at 190 Disraeli.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara didn’t have a date when the new site would open, but said the government and its partners are working to do so “as quickly as possible” if it is approved by Health Canada.

An application for that approval was filed on Nov. 21 and is listed as being in the screening stage.

Stephanie Casar, a member of the church council at Our Lady of Lourdes, a Slovenian Catholic Church that’s about 75 metres behind the proposed consumption site, expects the MacDonald Avenue church will lose congregation, at least in the short term, due to safety concerns if the facility goes ahead 

“For some people, they won’t feel comfortable coming. They just feel this sense of unease,” she said.

Casar is disappointed the church was not consulted when the location was determined, saying there was no invitation to “be part of any kind of discussion process.”

“According to the minister [Asagwara], it makes sense that this is the area [because they are] coming to the people. There are definitely a lot of other services in the surrounding area that are already supporting people, so I guess the location isn’t a surprise.”

Karlee Anderson, who lives in North Point Douglas, echoed criticism about consultations.

“I’m very disappointed that they haven’t sat down with the community as a whole. We do have many concerns which have not been addressed at all,” she said.

“I know that they have consulted with businesses, or will be, but community members, nothing has been done at all. They don’t seem interested in sitting down with us.”

Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith, who is the MLA for Point Douglas, has said consultations in the area will continue.

But Anderson, who has a daughter who attends Argyle Alternative High School across Disraeli from the consumption site, wonders how genuine that is, considering the application to Health Canada has been made.

Johnny Vernaus, who owns a nearby autobody business between Higgins and MacDonald Avenues, as well as a neighbouring apartment building, says he heard nothing about consultations either.

“That’s not being very transparent,” he said. “I think there should be at least involvement from the people that are on the doorstep of that building.”

He doesn’t believe the facility will address the city’s drug crisis.

“You’re not trying to get them out of taking drugs, you’re enabling them to do it easier.… That just doesn’t seem like a smart idea to me.”

If there are more consultations, Casar hopes her church’s voice will be included, because she has questions around the safety of the site’s future clients.

“There are already people that are obviously not healthy. They may be strung out, they’re not paying attention to cars. There’ll be somebody that’s in a wheelchair that’s going down the middle of the street,” she said.

“If the consumption site is there, and it’s so close to the Disraeli Freeway, hopefully they’ve taken that into consideration.”

‘If we don’t try, we don’t know’

Minister Smith told reporters on Wednesday the facility will operate as an injection site, offering primary care and addictions treatment, but stressed it won’t open until the property is fenced off. After that, there will be regular patrols by the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, she said.

Despite her concerns, Casar is clear she’s not opposed to the idea of the site.

“We do have to put our trust in our public officials that they’re trying to address a significant problem within our city,” she said.

“Can I speak for every single member? I haven’t done a poll, but I would say that we’re trying to be supportive. We’re trying to make our neighborhood a place that works for everyone.

“From a personal level, I applaud the city for trying something that may be out of our comfort zone. But if we don’t try, we don’t know if it works or it doesn’t work.”

Poulin hopes most people will take that approach, saying it would go a long way toward helping the site work.

“For people who use the sites, it’s very important that they feel comfortable … [and] accepted, and not judged.”