City, province at odds over proposed closure of overdose prevention site in downtown Calgary

In the wake of the news that Red Deer’s supervised consumption site will close by spring, questions are swirling about the future of a similar facility in Calgary’s downtown core.

Opening its doors in October 2017, the Safeworks Supervised Consumption Site at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre provides a place where people who use drugs are monitored in a hygienic environment to reduce the harm of substance use. Users also get additional support and connection to recovery-oriented services such as substance use treatment and supports, mental health care, and housing.

Site users can also access sterile injection supplies and disposal equipment, drug poisoning prevention education and response training, including naloxone kits, and education on a variety of harm reduction topics, such as vein care, safer injection techniques, and HIV prevention.

Thousands of Calgarians have taken advantage of the services over the last seven years.

Some say the service is crucial to the community.

“It’s not just a place to go to safely use drugs,” one woman told CityNews. “It’s that too, absolutely, but it’s a place to go to ask nurses questions and not be judged.”

But, in 2021, former Premier Jason Kenney said there were plans to close it down.

That was welcome news for some living in the area who claim the facility caused issues.

“We’re tired of cleaning up urine, poop, having our cars broken into,” one man said. “We’re hoping to see the end line soon.”

That hasn’t happened, at least, not yet.

Speaking at the Alberta Municipalities Conference this week, Mayor Jyoti Gondek says something needs to change.

“It hasn’t worked as intended,” she said.

Gondek claims that since 2022, the city has been waiting for the province to offer other solutions, saying it’s their responsibility.

“We’ve already weighed in and told you that we think it should be distributed and it shouldn’t be a centralized site. So, if the minister would like to come and come and talk to us again, I’ll be happy to do so,” she said. “But, what’s happening to Sheldon Chumir isn’t working.”

The mayor says action needs to be taken to address safe consumption across the city, not just in the core.

“We have had several conversations with the provincial government, most recently, probably in 2022, I remember speaking with Marshall Smith from the premier’s office and we were very clear: what we have heard from our service providers and what we can see through the data is that drug poisonings are happening all over the city and so if that’s the case, a centralized location isn’t working, and we’ve been told that a more distributed model would be better.”

The province says in a statement to CityNews it is willing to engage with the city when it comes to making a decision on the future of the supervised consumption site at Sheldon Chumir.

“As we have done with Red Deer, we found a solution and made a well-thought-out plan that works for the community in partnership with city council and local providers,” said Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams. “Transitioning the drug consumption site out of the community over a number of months and replacing it with services that focus on health, recovery, and wellness for both the individual and community at large.

“The Alberta Recovery Model is our solution to the addiction crisis that has ravaged our families and communities for far too long. The status quo solution to sit back and leave people in addiction is not an option. We will continue with a focus on giving people treatment, recovery, and a second lease on life.”

The process to shut down the overdose prevention site in Red Deer began late last year when a councillor put forward a notice of motion asking the province to remove the site and replace it with recovery services.

If successful, the removal of the site in Red Deer would be the first instance of an Alberta town or city completely getting rid of its supervised consumption site.