Despite province's previous claim, feds say there's no 500-metre rule on consumption site consultation
Manitoba addictions minister says province going 'above and beyond' on consultations for 1st supervised site
Confusion around consultations on the proposed location for Manitoba's first supervised consumption site has left some people who live and work in the area raising questions about the process — including the province's claim that it's required to engage in consultations in a specifically defined area.
Months ago, Manitoba's addictions minister told CBC that stakeholders within a 500-metre radius of the site would be consulted as part of federal requirements.
But a Health Canada spokesperson said in an email to CBC Manitoba that "while consultation is required, there is no specification about geographic distance from the site."
In an interview Thursday, Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith didn't address the previous comment regarding the 500-metre radius, but said the province is going "above and beyond" to seek feedback from area residents.
"There's rivers, rail lines.… We don't really have a number of metres," Smith said.
Smith said the Manitoba government wants to make sure it's listening and talking to everyone who's impacted in and around the area of the proposed site.
"We're following federal guidelines, and the guidelines they've given us is to consult in and around the area, and that's what we've been doing," Smith said.
The Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre, which has been chosen by the government to run the site, made an application to Health Canada to open the facility in a building located in Winnipeg at 200 Disraeli Fwy.
Part of the application requires a consultation report to be submitted. On its website, Health Canada says consultations can include outreach like open houses, an online survey, a website, flyers or door-to-door canvassing.
An emailed statement from the province on Tuesday said the federal requirement was actually consultation with businesses and residents within 200 metres of the site, but it made the decision to extend that reach to 500 metres.
"This distance was initially identified because research shows the majority of site patrons live and work within 500 metres of the supervised consumption site," a provincial spokesperson said in an email.
However, a spokesperson for Health Canada said in an email it doesn't have any specific requirement for how far out the consultations need to be done.
"That said, provinces, territories, and municipalities may have their own requirements in terms of community consultations, including geographic distance, as they are closer to the community level," the email said.
Need to understand community impact: resident
The province has been holding meetings regarding the proposed site by invite, and Smith said consultations are ongoing.
Christine Kirouac, an artist who lives and works in Point Douglas, went to a recent invitation-only meeting, even though she was not invited. She was let in, but feels consultations so far have been insufficient.
"You need to really understand the impact to the entire community," Kirouac said.
She opposes the current location for the proposed site and feels the government hasn't done enough to answer questions about how the area will be policed.
"It's not like other neighbourhoods or other places. You're putting in a safe consumption site in an area that has got a baseline that's already problematic," Kirouac said. "We have high crime here already."
Stephanie Casar, a member of the church council at Our Lady of Lourdes Slovenian Catholic Parish, said the church has not been part of any consultations to date, despite being located right across the street from the proposed site.
"When they do zoning bylaws for putting up new apartment blocks or anything that has to do with infrastructure of a city, you would think that there would be some sort of consultation process," Casar said.
Smith said the church has been asked to take part in consultations, but Casar said Wednesday it had not yet been contacted.
"If they've sent a notification, we haven't received it," Casar said.
Smith said the application process, which can take up to two years, is ongoing.
"You put your application in and as the application is going through, you're constantly looking for a site, you're doing consultations. There's a number of things that happen during that time," Smith said.
"That's why we're doing preliminary consultations. We're not set on a site. We want to hear feedback from the community. Is this the right location? That's why we're doing these consultations — to hear from the community."
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