Manitoba premier hints at change of location for supervised drug consumption site

WINNIPEG -

The Manitoba government signalled Friday it is open to changing the location of a proposed supervised drug consumption site that had been revealed two days earlier and met with criticism.

"If this is not the right site, there is a chance that we could go in a different direction," Premier Wab Kinew said.

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"This is a real consultation. We are willing to go in a different direction if there is that degree of outcry from the community. On the flip side though, if we can make this work and make it safe and save lives, then this is something that we're willing to move forward on."

The province said on Wednesday it had selected 200 Disraeli Freeway in Winnipeg's core area for the facility that would allow people to inject drugs, with staff on hand to respond to overdoses and guide people toward treatment. The centre would not supply drugs, but only offer a space for supervised consumption.

Some area residents said they have not been consulted, and critics have said the location is wrong because a high school is directly across a busy six-lane street from the site. An elevated pedestrian walkway connects the two.

The NDP government has tried to address safety concerns by promising increased police presence, community safety patrols, and a 2.5-metre-high fence around the property.

Bernadette Smith, the minister for housing, addictions and homelessness, said on Wednesday the area is already used for unsupervised drug consumption in open areas, and the proposed facility would increase safety.

Kinew said Friday the centre would prevent overdose deaths and is needed despite any political price that might be paid.

"If this was about politics, the easy thing to do would be to say 'no, we're not going to do supervised consumption.' Obviously that would be the more popular move.

"But we're moving ahead with this because doctors tell us this is how you save lives amidst the opioid and drug crisis that we're seeing right now."

The NDP government also appeared less firm Friday on when the facility might open. The government had said in the summer it was aiming for 2025, but Kinew would not commit to a timeline Friday.

It's not known how long approval from Health Canada might take. Some applications in other provinces from 2021 are still listed as being reviewed on the federal department's website.

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he would close supervised consumption sites if his party wins the next election.

   This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024.