A new committee in North Bay is looking at revitalizing the downtown core and only a few weeks into existence, the committee is being challenged with a hot topic; methadone clinics.
"There are concerns about perceptions around safety,” said Shawn Chorney, Downtown Revitalization Committee co-chair.
“There are concerns about the type of people who are downtown and some folks suggest it's all due to methadone clinics. We haven't looked at it yet but there are issues of perceptions around those things. There are bigger issues at play.”
The idea is alarming to some, who believe the issue is not the clinics, but rather public perception.
"I think it's a giant step backwards in 2017 to look at methadone clinics being moved away so that we can further hide the people that are suffering," said Wendy Prieur, North Bay Recovery Home executive director.
Prieur said addiction is a health issue involving one in every five people.
"Addiction has no prejudice," she said.
"It can be our doctor, our lawyer our neighbor, our family member. You don't need to be that homeless person that people think of when people think of the addict or junkie and all those awful words people use to describe someone who is suffering."
"I personally have had family members who have needed to be on methadone and I know how it has changed their life, and they wouldn't be the typical person you would think of with the image of you think of when it comes to people using meth clinics, so I just hope people get educated," added Jeff Serran, Downtown Improvement Association executive director.
Serran told CTV there have been no major incidents stemming from methadone clinics in the last fifteen years, and while Downtown Revitalization Committee said it's too early for them to comment, it is something expected to be examined.
