Scott Oake's son Bruce died from an overdose more than six years ago.
In memory of his son and to help other families dealing with the opioid crisis, he’s working towards a goal of opening a treatment centre for long term patients in Winnipeg.
"We are talking about addressing a problem that which if we all work together we can save lives," said Oake.
Now it appears a possible location has been identified for the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre. The city and province are eyeing the property that houses the decommissioned Vimy Arena in Assiniboia.
Oake says the 50-bed men-only facility would be around 25,000 to 30,000 square feet, replacing the arena. He says the site is ideal.
“There's plenty of green space, it's got public transportation, it's far enough away from the centre of the city that there is some serenity about it," said Oake.
But the area's city councillor is raising objections.
Shawn Dobson says he was only made aware of this possibility by the mayor this past weekend.
The councillor for St. Charles feels the neighbourhood could have concerns about this kind of project. Dobson also wants the property put on the market for requests for proposals.
“At this point I will not support this. I will do everything in my power to prevent this from going forward until we have proper consultation with residents and hear their views," said Dobson.
Mayor Brian Bowman says until the province confirmed it was a partner late last week, there was nothing to report. Bowman says nothing is official and consultation will happen before any decisions are made. But Bowman is behind Oake's goal.
"I want to support him in any way I can whether or not this is the specific site location that's ultimately for council to consider," said Bowman.
Paul Batchelor runs the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club next door to the Vimy Arena. He's not sure it’s the best location for an addictions centre.
"As to what the state of mind of these folks that are going to be in there, the possibility if you will of getting into the neighbourhood and doing various things," said Batchelor.
Oake says the people staying there would be following strict guidelines. He says Fresh Start, a recovery centre from Calgary with 25 years of experience will run the facility. Oake is confident when sceptics are better educated about the plan, they'll get on board.
"We're talking about a state of the art facility that will be a credit to the neighbourhood and a chance where people get to restart their lives," said Oake.
