Manitoba Progressive Conservatives raising red flags about safe consumption site

CTV’s Harrison Shin has more on the Manitoba PCs releasing documents they say raise red flags about the safe consumption site.

The battle over Manitoba’s first safe consumption site continues.

“We know that these centres, these places, are going to be surrounded by drug dealers, by people who want to take advantage of the people in that area,” said Obby Khan, leader of the PCs, during a media scrum on Monday.

In a media release on Monday, the Progressive Conservatives released two documents obtained through Access to Information requests – one of them, an intake form originally intended for the 200 Disraeli Freeway site.

The form asked if the user is at a higher risk, listing factors such as pregnancy, youth and being a first-time drug user.

“They will not turn away first-time users, they will not let your parents know, they will show you how to do the drugs,” Khan said.

Manitoba’s Addictions Minister, Bernadette Smith, called it “fearmongering.”

“When we hear the PC fearmongering and talking about children doing drugs – we need to really ask the Conservatives, ‘Should we be making sure that we are connecting people to services?’” Smith said on Monday.

Elaine Hyshka, Canada research chair in health systems innovation at the University of Alberta, said the supervised consumption site is a health service, explaining the questions on the form will inform the care providers at the site.

“Those are very normal questions that I would expect to be asked at any supervised consumption service, as well as any other health services operating in Canada,” she said.

Joseph Fourre, founder of the Singing Red Bear Foundation, supported harm reduction – but not for the safe consumption sites.

“I stand here as a grieving father who has lost a son to a fentanyl poisoning, and I stand here today to tell you that this site is not going to help one, because it’s not going to help Manitobans,” he said on Monday.

Smith added that minors won’t be able to use the centre.

“There will be a check-in process so people will have to present themselves. They will have to verify who they are when they come in with the staff member and if minors do come here, they will be referred to different resources because that’s obviously not the appropriate resource.”

CTV News reached out to the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre but has not heard back.