While council will vote later this month, the site’s fate ultimately lies with the province, says Mayor Gondek
City council will vote later this month on whether to close a supervised drug consumption site in the Beltline, after the executive committee endorsed a councillor’s pitch Wednesday to prompt the discussion.
But despite the upcoming vote, Calgary’s mayor insists that the site’s fate is not up to council, but rather the provincial government.
“Nobody can honestly say after looking at the human carnage on display that this is working,” Williams said in an interview with Postmedia columnist Rick Bell.
“If the City of Calgary wants to see the drug consumption site removed, they’re very welcome to let me know and I’ll work with them just like I did in Red Deer. There is an alternative to sacrificing your communities and sacrificing the dignity of those in active addiction.”
While she agreed with Williams in her letter that Safeworks’ existing service model has not been effective since the consumption site opened six years ago, Gondek argued the ball is in the province’s court on whether the facility should close.
“It is not within my jurisdiction as mayor of Calgary to make decisions for you about provincial health services in provincial health facilities,” she wrote.
However, Gondek warned that closing the site without a proper alternative would immediately force Calgarians who use drugs onto the streets or back into their homes, driving up drug poisoning deaths and creating unsafe situations at transit stations and other public places.
“In the interest of Calgarians, it is critical to understand your solution prior to your closure of the site at Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre,” she wrote.
In his own letter, Williams responded that he has an obligation to ask city council its position on the site, “given the impact on Calgarians.”
Councillor’s motion seeks to ‘find an alternative’ solution
The bid to consider the site’s closure was supported 9-1 on Wednesday. Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra was the only member to vote in opposition.
The motion from Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean was added to the agenda as an urgent item, and the proposal will be considered by council as a whole at their Oct. 29 regular meeting.
“We all know there are significant crime issues in this area,” McLean said. “I believe there is significant support in the city, and especially people in that neighbourhood, to find an alternative.”
McLean’s motion also suggests lobbying the province to increase investment in drug prevention, intervention, detox treatment, recovery services and other supports for people experiencing mental-health and addiction challenges.
Gondek said council was in favour of the site’s relocation in 2021, and she doesn’t know why the province never followed through.
As for why the Safeworks site hasn’t been effective, Gondek argued it could be the high density of the site’s location and its centrality.
“There’s people who have said having a site that is only in one place and doesn’t reach other parts of the city simply doesn’t work,” she said. “There are folks who say it shouldn’t be in that particular neighbourhood.
“There are all kinds of ideas and impressions of why it doesn’t work but, honestly, this is the province’s responsibility. Explain to us what’s not working, why it’s not working and what you’re going to do differently.”
‘This is an essential service’
A University of Calgary nursing professor, whose research specializes in addiction and harm reduction, said closing the consumption site would have “catastrophic” consequences for some of the city’s most vulnerable people.
Jennifer Jackson said she questions Williams’ and Gondek’s comments about the site “not working,” noting Safeworks provides an essential health service and has taken strain off the emergency response sector.
“We know from research I’ve done here in the city, the supervised consumption site helps to avoid sending people to the emergency department and decreases the number of 911 calls for overdose-related events,” she said.
However, Jackson added she agrees with the idea of spreading supervised consumption sites around the city to enable easier access, and argues a city of Calgary’s size and population could have around 20 such sites.
Setting up that many consumption sites would not be overly expensive or arduous, Jackson said, if the province used existing resources and facilities, such as doctor’s offices, pharmacies and other mental-health facilities.
“For a supervised consumption site, you need a health professional and a chair,” she said.
However, Williams’ letter Wednesday indicated the province has no plans to establish more consumption sites in Calgary, citing a lack of community support for the facilities. He said if council wishes to establish more consumption sites, a request must be accompanied by a city-led proposal with a list of preferred locations.
