Parents' doubts persist after forum on Montreal supervised drug-use site near school

Several parents say they were left with serious doubts after a tense Tuesday evening information session about a new supervised drug-use site opening near their children's Montreal elementary school.

Marie-Eve Bourrelle was among them. She emerged from the Victor-Rousselot school gymnasium in the second hour of what was supposed to be a one-hour meeting to answer parents' questions and address concerns about neighbourhood security.

Bourrelle said she's generally in favour of expanding overdose prevention services, just not so close to a school. The stakes, she suggested, are now high for local officials and the organization behind the new centre, Maison Benoît Labre, to follow through on hopes for a harmonious integration in the surrounding community.

"If the security is not done like they say, I'm going to refuse to let my child go to school," Bourrelle vowed.

Maison Benoît Labre is a non-profit that serves unhoused people. Its under-construction facility in the St-Henri neighbourhood, in Montreal's Sud-Ouest borough, will comprise 36 studio apartments for people experiencing homelessness and living with addiction or mental health issues.

There will be an overdose prevention centre on the first floor, where people who use drugs can bring their own substances to consume under staff supervision. It would be the first such centre in Montreal to allow drug inhalation in addition to other modes of consumption.

The Maison Benoît Labre building is scheduled to open this fall, though its plans for supervised drug-use are still under review by federal regulators.

The new building is less than 100 metres from Victor-Rousselot elementary school. Several students' parents have raised concerns about the proximity of hard drugs, such as fentanyl, to their children, as well as the potential impact on the safety of the small public park and playground that sits between the school and Maison Benoît Labre site.

The Tuesday evening information session was limited to the parents of schoolchildren, school administrators, health officials, and representatives from the borough, local police and Maison Benoît Labre. Members of the media and other St-Henri residents were not allowed to attend.

A crowd of about 50 people gathered outside the school as the meeting began. Many of them said they showed up in an attempt to learn more about the supervised drug-use project and share thoughts with neighbours. Others protested the project, holding signs that depicted bloody syringes above the words, "no crack, fentanyl and crystal meth just a few feet from our children."

Emotions were running high as many members of the crowd engaged in debate and lively conversation.

Sarah Neveu, mother of two Victor-Rousselot students, described a similar scene inside, with parents and officials locked in disagreement about the perceived dangers of a safe drug-use site.

"It's extremely frustrating," Neveu said as she left the school to take a break from the information session. "We're very disappointed with the meeting."

Neveu and other parents said they worry about the presence of drug users near the school, and that they wished officials had consulted them about the Maison Benoît Labre project earlier.

Social acceptability is a must: minister

In a statement to CBC News, Quebec's Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) said once it receives a request for the supervised drug-use site from Maison Benoît-Labre, it will be analyzed. 

A spokesperson for Lionel Carmant, Quebec's minister responsible for social services, noted it's up to the local health authority to choose the location of such a site, not the government. However, public acceptance is a must. 

"A supervised inhalation centre is an important service to reduce harm but it is imperative that there is social acceptability in the neighbourhood. We cannot impose a [safe drug-site] in a neighbourhood so close to a school," a statement reads. 

The spokesperson said the minister will be following the issue closely over the coming days. 

The organization's executive director, Andréane Desilets, has said it has strived to raise awareness of the new residence and overdose prevention centre in St-Henri. A neighbourhood cleaning brigade and full-time employee dedicated to school-zone security are among the measures she has said the non-profit will deploy to keep the area around the Victor-Rousselot campus safe.

But Leveesa Lessey, mother of a seven-year-old Victor-Rousselot student, says she's unsatisfied.

"Let's face it: eventually this is going to get out of hand and one of our children [is] going to end up getting hurt," she said as she left the school.

"So what? We got to wait until one of our kids are affected by it for it to change?" she continued. "The change has to be now."