Calgary city council discussing future of supervised consumption site

Supervised drug use site's future in air It's been a contentious issue since it opened, and the future of Calgary's supervised drug consumption site remains in the air.

Calgary city council will be debating the future of the city’s only supervised consumption site (SCS).

Councillors will consider whether to formally call on the province to shut down the site, which has operated out of the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre for nearly seven years.

The discussion stems from a public back-and-forth between city officials and the provincial government last month.

"I think we can all agree this isn't about whether you agree with safe consumption or safe supply. This is about whether this facility is actually doing what's required and if it belongs in a residential and highly populated business area," said Dan McLean, the councillor for Ward 13 who put forth the motion.

Advocates for the site say it’s saved countless lives and resources, while critics argue it fuels crime and drug use in the area. A rally on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday saw harm-reduction advocates pushing for the city and province to come up with an alternate plan before closing the centralized site in the Beltline.

"Unfortunately, I think the site has become an easy scapegoat for a lot of other problems that we're seeing in the city and across the country," said Dr. Kate Colizza, an addictions medicine physician.

"I think most of us agree that we do need more sites. And although that might sound sort of counterintuitive, if we can reduce the demand on a single site, that might address some of the concerns that residents have," Dr. Colizza added.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek noted drug poisonings are happening across the city, showing a single centralized SCS isn’t working.However, the mayor said it's up to the province to decide what to do with it.

"This is provincial jurisdiction. We agree with you that there are problems right now with this site, but you cannot close a site until you have a complete program that takes care of people," Gondek said.

The debate around the site’s future comes amid the province continuing to implement its new Alberta Recovery Model.

It looks to increase and reduce barriers for addiction services while putting less emphasis on certain harm-reduction strategies.

The province previously called for Calgary’s site to close in 2021, wanting to work with agencies to create several new sites.