Manitoba supervised consumption site could be opening soon under exemption: minister

Winnipeg’s supervised consumption site could be open in the next several weeks. Jon Hendricks has more.

A supervised consumption site could be opening in Winnipeg in the coming weeks, the province confirmed.

Manitoba Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said Thursday that the province is moving forward with the site under a federal exemption to set up an urgent public health need site. An exact opening date was not given, but Smith said it would likely open in the “next several weeks.”

“This is the fastest way we can set one up, so we’re going to be moving with our partners to set one up as quickly as possible,” she said.

Under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, a class exemption can be issued to allow provinces to create the site, also known as an overdose prevention site, on a temporary basis while applications for a permanent facility are being examined.

Smith said the province was told by the federal government that this method is the quickest way to get a site operating in the city.

The temporary overdose prevention site will be set up where the permanent facility is proposed to open at 366 Henry Avenue, the minister said.

“Manitobans deserve to have these resources and supports,” Smith said. “We have the infrastructure. We have identified where the space is going to be.”

According to the minister, the province has been working with the federal government and community stakeholders to set the site up and assist people with addictions.

“We have a responsibility as a government to support people to get onto a path of recovery,” she said.

The province is also working with Winnipeg police and the Downtown Community Safety Partnership to step up foot patrols in the area, she said.

Meanwhile, Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan said the province is “ramming through” the site by using the exemption and claiming the province only just learned about this method.

“It’s clear as day that the premier and the minister have no idea what’s actually happening at the site, when they themselves said 24 hours ago they just found out they don’t need a permit to operate,” Khan said.