Calgary city council will debate the future of the supervised consumption site in the Beltline later this month, but the city’s mayor says the decision to close the site is ultimately up to the province.
The city’s executive committee endorsed an urgent motion from Ward 13 councillor Dan McLean to prompt the discussion.
In his motion, McLean is seeking council support to ask the Alberta government to close the site and invest in other prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery services and supports for people experiencing addictions and mental health challenges.
“Just for safety’s sake and for the people in the neighbourhood, let’s please get this shut down before something awful happens,” McLean told reporters following the meeting.
McLean’s motion comes after comments from Mental Health and Addiction Minister Dan Williams, who said the province would close the Safeworks consumption site at the Sheldon M. Chumir Heath Centre in the Beltline, pending council’s approval.
However, Mayor Jyoti Gondek told reporters the site and its fate falls within provincial jurisdiction.
“City council does not weigh in on health-related decisions, or mental health-related decisions, or addictions treatment,” Gondek said. “That is wholly in the purview of the provincial government.”
In anticipation of the discussion, Gondek sent a letter to Williams on Wednesday morning, asking for the province’s solution prior to any decision to close the site.
“Closing the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre supervised consumption site without proper alternatives will immediately force those seeking support on to the streets or into their homes, driving up drug poisoning deaths and creating unsafe situations throughout communities in Calgary,” Gondek wrote in her letter.
“It will also create further issues, like people using drugs at transit stops because they know officers are there to respond to overdoses.
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“There must be a comprehensive plan from the government of Alberta to deal with mental health and addictions treatment for Calgarians who desperately need supports, and that plan must also address issues of public safety that have been observed with the existing model.”
In 2021, under former premier Jason Kenney’s government, the province said it would close the Safeworks supervised consumption site in the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre as part of a “city-by-city approach regarding the location of supervised consumption services.” However, the site remains open.
“I have no idea why they haven’t closed it. I would love to get a response to that,” Gondek said following the meeting Wednesday.
“This is the province’s responsibility. Explain to us what’s not working, why it’s not working and what you’re going to do differently.”
In her letter to Williams, Gondek said at that time, she agreed with the province’s assessment that the existing supervised consumption model in the city was not working as intended. Gondek was a councillor at the time. She said Wednesday she still agrees with the province’s 2021 assessment.
“I also agree with the position that more treatment beds are needed, and was very interested in your government’s musings in 2022 to combine addictions treatment with supervised consumption sites, as well as other ways to improve access to mental health and addictions support,” Gondek wrote in her letter.
In his own letter, Williams said he has an “obligation” to ask city council for its position on the site’s closure “given the impact on Calgarians.”
But the minister has ruled out opening new consumption sites or relocating the current site; a move the former premier had floated as part of the decision to close Safeworks.
“Given the lack of community support, any proposal to expand with new drug consumption sites I am seriously willing to consider,” Williams wrote.
Williams noted that if city council felt otherwise, that request would require a “city-led proposal.”
“If Calgary city council chooses, similar to the recent council vote in Red Deer, to transition the Sheldon Chumir drug consumption site into addiction recovery services by passing a motion of council, the Province of Alberta will lead a comprehensive addiction recovery plan with municipal partners and relevant stakeholders,” Williams wrote.
Jennifer Jackson, a University of Calgary nursing professor who specializes in addition and harm reduction, pushed back on both Williams’ and Gondek’s wording that the site is “not working.”
Jackson said the issues arising from the current site are due to its centralization, and a lack of supporting resources and infrastructure.
“One location has not been enough, and that does not mean this location is not working,” she told Global News. “It means that we need more resources so that we can provide that comprehensive care across the city.”
According to Jackson, the closure of the supervised consumption site would have “catastrophic consequences” for people who frequently rely on its services.
McLean’s motion will now go to council for a full debate.
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