The public had a chance to learn and share feedback on a proposed supervised consumption site in the Point Douglas neighbourhood.
A townhall took place Tuesday night in the Exchange District’s Ashdown Market.
“I want to assure everyone that we have not set on a site,” Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said during the meeting. “I have said this for months that we are still looking at sites.”
The province announced in December its plan to have a site at 200 Disraeli, which would provide needles and other drug consumption equipment to users, as well as resources for health and drug rehabilitation.
The plan has been criticized because the location is within walking distance of a school and a daycare.
People at the townhall say they don’t believe they’re receiving the full picture.
“We look at information in other provinces and data that shows a huge spike in crime statistics,” said Ann Robinson, one of the organizers. “So, we kind of want to get some help from the experts to maybe help us make sense of that.”
Smith, who is the MLA for the area, said she believes the consumption site is needed.
“The data tells us the overdoses and the use (of drugs) are in and around this area, so the supervised consumption site needs to be in this area,” she said.
Smith added the government is still consulting and listening to the community.
-With files from CTV’s Jon Hendricks
