Maison Benoît Labre may have to move safe consumption site 7 metres under proposed Quebec law

Maison Benoit Labre (CTV News)

The Maison Benoît Labre says it is willing to conform with new rules proposed in Bill 103 if the government commits to supporting the organization.

The bill was tabled on May 6 to “regulate supervised consumption sites in order to promote their harmonious cohabitation with the community.” Consultations are ongoing.

The Saint-Henri non-profit’s biggest obstacle will be to meet the new requirement for safe consumption sites to be at least 150 metres away from schools and daycares.

The Maison Benoît Labre made headlines last year when neighbours complained about the day centre for homeless people opening the city’s first supervised drug consumption site, saying they felt unsafe. The new bill seemed to be targeting the organization, according to its director.

Andréane Désilets, director of the Maison Benoît Labre, told the National Assembly that several steps have been taken since to integrate it into the neighbourhood better. Those include consulting with the borough, public health authorities, Montreal police, other community organizations, and other community organizations, going door-to-door, and more.

• READ MORE: City looks to move St-Henri homeless day centre next to school

The organization has been helping vulnerable and homeless people in Montreal’s Sud-Ouest borough for over 70 years. It provides meals, psychosocial support, over 30 transitional housing units, a 24/7 day centre, and outreach.

‘Matter of life and death’

Maison Benoît Labre would have to move its safe consumption site just seven metres to meet the new rules while keeping its transitional housing units and day centre where they are.

Désilets stressed that there cannot be a break in services while the organization looks for a new space as “it’s a matter of life and death.” She said the housing crisis, affordability crisis and opioid crisis are all compounding and have gotten worse in recent years.

“People are dying of overdose every day all over Quebec, men, women, young people, all of whom are extremely vulnerable,” she said Wednesday.

“Supervised consumption sites save lives and prevent mischief. Experts in health and safety have agreed on this. We already saved several lives.”

• READ MORE: Quebec Liberals want to ban supervised injection sites near schools, daycare centres

Désilets said she does not believe moving a block away will increase the social acceptability of the safe consumption site or solve cohabitation issues, but she is willing to work with officials.

However, that takes time and resources. Désilets said she’s been visiting potential sites and talking with local entrepreneurs, but acquiring a new space would cost about $3.5 million – which Maison Benoît Labre doesn’t have.

A move like this can’t be done in four years, she added. It took the non-profit seven years to move into its current four-storey building near Atwater market, according to Désilets.

The Maison Benoît Labre is asking the government to accompany organizations that will have to relocate and provide the necessary financial support to maintain services during the process.

“I believe this law will pass, so from there how do we make sure we’re working together and make sure community organizations don’t shoulder all the responsibility?” Désilets told journalists at a news scrum after the consultation.

Break in services would be ‘catastrophic’

Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant’s department would have new powers to approve or refuse new supervised drug consumption sites under the proposed law.

Carmant said everything will taken under Santé Quebec’s charge and the province will have to contribute financially if issues arise. However, centres like the Maison Benoît Labre may not get the full amount they’re asking for.

He added that Quebec is in favour of sites offering evidence-based harm reduction services, saying the government has a duty to provide safe spaces for everyone who uses the sites as well as those who live nearby.

Québec Solidaire’s Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, the MNA for the area, said he was willing to commit to accompanying the Maison Benoît Labre and urged Carmant to do the same.

“Two people die of an overdose every day in Quebec … A break in services would be catastrophic,” he said.

In the meantime, Désilets said more is needed to sensitize the public to issues related to homelessness and the opioid crisis to promote cohabitation.

“People are scared of what they don’t understand,” she said.

• READ MORE: Advocates say politicians are using Montreal safe drug-use site to score points

The Mouvement pour mettre fin à l’itinérance à Montréal also took part in Wednesday’s consultation and criticized the bill’s lack of homelessness prevention measures.

They accused the government of overly politicizing the issue, saying there are already effective frameworks in place and that the bill is a “band-aid” measure.

“There are success stories of social cohabitation but they are not shared with the public,” said director Michele Chappaz.