Kitchener council endorses Duke Street location for supervised consumption site

Kitchener councillors have agreed to support the region's preferred location for a supervised consumption site, despite resistance from Mayor Berry Vrbanovic last week. 

The unanimous decision by council to support the regional recommendation was made Monday evening during a special council meeting.

Vrbanovic said council heard from many people in the community. That included more than 20 people who spoke at the special council meeting.

"Kitchener over the last three decades has had a long history of being supportive of dealing with the challenges the region faces in the area of social services," Vrbanovic said. 

He said he was proud the community "spoke so loudly and clearly about their desire to see us do the right thing and start saving lives that were being lost as a result of this drug crisis."

Regional staff had recommended a site go at 150 Duke St. W., which is across the street from city hall. The region's community services committee voted in favour of that location as well.

But during the committee meeting last week,Vrbanovic said the city would prefer the site to go at 105 Victoria St. N., an undeveloped piece of land.

Coun. Sarah Marsh, whose ward includes downtown Kitchener, also put forward a motion to have the supervised consumption site at the empty lot at the corner of Victoria Street and Weber Street.

They said city council was in agreement that the Duke Street location was too close to residences, schools and child care facilities. There were also concerns developers wouldn't want to build near a supervised consumption site.

Vrbanovic says he had "not heard any concerns from the development community until the very end."

Then, over the weekend, Marsh and Vrbanovic said they'd changed their minds, and they'd support the Duke Street location.

It was largely due to criticism from other regional councillors and community members who said if the city tried to push the Victoria-Weber location onto the region, it would result in more delays.

"It became apparent that everyone's worst concern is that we don't end up with a site," Vrbanovic told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo on Sunday.

The Duke Street location will take about nine months to get operational, regional staff told the community services committee last week.

The approval by Kitchener council is expected to be rubber stamped at a regional council meeting on Wednesday, which means regional staff can start applying to the province to have a site and to Health Canada for an exemption under section 56.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Vrbanovic has also asked regional staff to look at options to get a temporary supervised consumption site in place within two months.

Staff are expected to report back to the next community services committee on April 30.