Manitoba’s first supervised consumption site is opening five days a week in Winnipeg after a series of lengthy delays.
The site at 366 Henry Ave. in downtown Winnipeg was scheduled to open at 11 a.m. Tuesday, after several setbacks derailed the province’s plans to establish a facility allowing drug users to consume under the supervision of trained staff.
The province says the site — which will not supply the drugs — will reduce the risk of overdose and other harms while connecting people to resources they need.
“For far too long, we’ve seen people openly use, we’ve seen people pass away,” Homelessness and Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith said Tuesday.
“This is another tool where people can access supports and services, get on to a path to recovery.”
The NDP had initially aimed to open the site in 2025. It first proposed opening it on the Disraeli Freeway, but that location was scrapped in September amid stiff opposition from people in the area.
Neighbours and the Progressive Conservatives have also protested against the new site in a provincially owned industrial building west of Main Street, saying they believe it will make the area less safe.
Activist and former addict Joseph Fourre said the site only “prolongs the agony of addiction,” and resources could have been better used elsewhere.
“There is no structure in place to get on the pathway of recovery,” Fourre said outside the site Tuesday. “If you just look at the wait times for treatment or detox, it’s just not there.”
Monica Cyr, CEO of the Aboriginal Health & Wellness Centre — which will run the site in partnership with Shared Health and the province — asked critics to give it a chance.
“Adding more resources at a time of crisis is not a bad thing. That’s a good thing,” she said.
“We are dedicated to being a good neighbour. We believe in the work that we’re doing. We believe in harm reduction.”
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The site will have physician oversight and a 24/7 security service. There will be eight staff on duty, including nurses and a crisis counsellor.
The space can take up to 12 clients at a time. They will undergo an initial assessment, determining, among other things, which drugs they’re using.
Those who are there for injections will go to an RV that was used for vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be a separate place under a canopy for inhalation.
“When it comes to people actually using their substances, that takes about two to three minutes,” Cyr said. “After about 20 to 25 minutes, [they’ll be] carrying on with their day.”
Staff will keep an eye on clients at all times, touching base with them and offering them additional resources before they leave.
Downtown Community Safety Partnership foot patrols will accompany people to wherever they need to go, which Cyr said will help keep people from congregating around the site.
Smith said no one under 18 will get access.
A more permanent setup in the future will include a rapid access addiction medicine clinic and primary health-care services.
The Aboriginal Health & Wellness Centre submitted an application to operate the site to Health Canada in December.
Once the 2025 opening was abandoned, Premier Wab Kinew indicated the site would open in March, but that timeline was also scrapped. The site was open for one day in June, with a gradual opening in July allowing staff to train before the Aug. 11 full opening.
Mayor Scott Gillingham said Tuesday that he hopes the site drives drug consumption away from city streets.
“I don’t want to see any more use on the streets,” he said at a news conference on downtown safety.
“I know that’s a tall order, but what we need to do is get people that are using off of bus shelters, off of sidewalks. They now have a space to use in the downtown.”
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Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the opening is first and foremost about providing primary care to people, but it will also support efforts to make the downtown safer.
“The supervised consumption site, of course, is about making sure that people have a place they can safely get services, connected to housing, use safely, not overdose, not die in our streets,” they said.
“This is something that experts and that folks have been calling for for a long time, and it’s going to help our downtown community.”
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Cyr said the centre does expect a reduction in open drug use, but it will take some time to gauge the full impact.
The provincial and federal governments will receive regular reports on the site, including how many people have gotten supports.
