Winnipeg businesses upset with Manitoba’s proposed new location for supervised drug consumption site

Manitoba has proposed a new location for its supervised consumption site after concerns were raised about the previous location being too close to a high school and nearby residents.

Now businesses around 366 Henry Avenue – the new proposed location – worry it may harm their business.

BACKGROUND: Manitoba informs residents of revised location for supervised drug consumption site

“If homeless people get locked out of the facilities, they’ll start making encampments, they’ll start hanging around and it gives the impression that the area is very unsafe,” said Danny Valentim, the co-owner of Four Seasons Auto Body Ltd. on Stanley Street and Henry Avenue.

The NDP government has planned to have the site up and running in January.

“These people don’t do harm to anybody, like we’ve never experienced harm ourselves and we’ve been here almost 50 years. But the impression is, it brings down business because it makes the area look like its unsafe,” Valentim said.

“Instead of treating addiction, they’re promoting safe consumption of drug use, so that’s just feeding the addiction.”

Right across from Four Seasons, J.A.T.S. Auto Repair says it’s experienced issues in the past with robberies, break-ins and vandalism. Workers there fear it will do more harm than good.

“We already have to deal with a bunch of needles on the ground,” said Jaden Vilaysone, an automotive technician at J.A.T.S. “If that helps clean it up, then by all means, but we have to deal with people with weapons in the area, freaking out in the area, taking a piss, taking a dump in the area, breaking into our cars, breaking into the properties.

“We’re not the only ones that have to deal with it. You can ask our neighbours; everyone has to deal with it.”

While those businesses are unhappy with the proposal, the interim CEO of Siloam Missions – which offers support for people experiencing poverty and homelessness – feels the new site will save lives.

“This provides an opportunity for safe use in the supervised setting,” said Julianne Aitken. “So our hope with this is that we would be able to, if somebody’s using substances, that we could refer them or say, ‘hey, this is just down the street.’

So they could use inside, they could get their drugs tested, because there’s lots of toxic drug supply. And then we wouldn’t have to be calling the EMS, and people ending up perhaps in an emergency room.”

CityNews requested an interview with Bernadette Smith, Manitoba’s minister of housing, addictions and homelessness. In a written statement, the minister’s office confirmed there is a plan in place to have the new site up and running by January.

A consultation meeting will be held at Siloam Mission on Tuesday, where Minister Smith will take questions.