Province releases report on Supervised Consumption Sites

They say 16,831 individuals and 440 businesses provided feedback through the online survey, and about 1,800 people attended the town halls, held in Grande Prairie, Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. As well, more than 500 first responders and more than 50 stakeholder groups gave evidence and concerns.

Jason Luan, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, says he was profoundly disturbed by the findings, and that they saw an increase in social disorder, needle debris and a lack of referrals to treatment and recovery.

“What we see, is a system of chaos. Chaos for addicts who desperately need help getting well, and chaos for communities around the sites. It’s our government’s job to carefully study the feedback provided and determine how we will address the concerns of Albertans.”

The report also found an increase in the use of methamphetamine, which led to “aggressive behavior”.

Professor Geri Bemister-Williams, vice-chair of the review committee, saw inconsistent and inaccurate reports of ‘adverse events’ and overdose reversals.

“In many cases, adverse events, even if non-life threatening or minor, are reported as overdoses, and the term ‘reversals’, is used when the response was a simple administration of oxygen. This leaves the public with an inference that without these sites, thousands of people could fatally overdose or no longer be alive.”

Bemister-Williams adds that through the public consultations done in the past year, many community members and residents said an increase of needle debris, garbage and feces was a major issue. She says many supervised consumption site workers disclosed the distribution of what they called “party packs”.

“This, in most cases, is a brown paper bag with supplies that includes clean needles, clean crack or methamphetamine pipes, and other supplies for safe injection that can be removed from the sites.”

Included in the report were specifics on the cities where SCS’s operate, including Grande Prairie.

Grande Prairie’s mobile SCS unit, which has been operated through the Northreach Society since March of 2019, is currently parked at the Rotary House. The report included issues found at and with the Grande Prairie site.

“The Grand(e) Prairie site is the most recently established, the smallest, and the only “mobile” site in operation,” reads the official report. “The site is reportedly taking a slow and measured approach to providing services in response to the negative reaction such sites elicited in other locations. Although the site is near a municipally sanctioned ‘tent city’, it services only a small percentage of the residents.”

A quote was included in the Grande Prairie section of the official report from the First Responder survey.

“There appears to be little to no accountability with regards to the service provided. It is my understanding a SCS is meant to provide addicted users a place to get their ‘fix’ with the end of goal of eventually entering treatment. All that appears to be happening is individuals get their place to use drugs with no repercussions. The SCS is also located right beside the Rotary House, which also functions as an emergency shelter and provides other services to addicted individuals. The area is now used as a base of operations for property crime in Grande Prairie. Many times I have attended and seen STAFF MEMBERS whom I have previously arrested for drug and property crime. Most of the detachment as expressed concern, but it’s out of the control of the police.”

However, Assistant Executive Director of Northreach in Grande Prairie, Johnathan Fortune, argues that supervised consumption services are a critical public health service.

“It’s really important that the province recognize that they’re staffed by trained medical professionals that do have colleges and standards of practice backing the work they do. So, we have registered nurses, we have paramedics staffed inside supervised consumption sites, not just in Grande Prairie, but everywhere else there’s a SCS open, and they do follow best practices.”

After getting a chance to read the report, City Councillor Dylan Bressey says he was disappointed with the report’s findings on Grande Prairie.

“I think it’s completely absurd that this provincial report is taking no responsibility for the province making a decision to shutdown our daytime shelter space over the spring and summer, and the impacts that that had on our community.”

He adds that he felt many voices were ignored in the report, and that at the town hall held past September in Grande Prairie on the SCS, he heard many voices who spoke in support of them.

“Helping people that are struggling with addictions and mental health, it’s a complex area (where) it’s hard to balance ‘how do we help them, as well as how do we help the community’. I think it’s important to have good data, and to hear from all community voices, and I’m really disappointed that this report didn’t seem to make any attempt to take an unbiased, thoughtful, open approach to what’s happening in our community.”

Bressey says he does see an increase in issues in the community, but that he wishes the report detailed more data regarding Grande Prairie as a whole, and not just the SCS.

“Undoubtedly, we’ve been seeing a rise in social disorder in Grande Prairie, but I’m really having troubles figuring out how is that localized to the supervised consumption site, and how is that spread to the whole community. I think that there just is data there that isn’t being found if we’re only looking at the immediate area around supervised consumption sites.”

There were no specific recommendations given from the report. Luan says they will need to work on a “city-by-city” basis to determine the appropriate decisions going forward.

The full report can be read here.

by Emily Keller

Province releases report on Supervised Consumption Sites

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