It was an exercise in frustration.
Point Douglas residents say the latest consultation meeting about the supervised drug site that’s proposed for their neighbourhood, failed to address key questions.
The Free Press spoke with attendees who favour and oppose the proposed location at 200 Disraeli Fwy., who said questions posed Thursday night about how the community would be kept safe were either re-directed or not fully answered.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Point Douglas residents say the latest consultation meeting about the supervised drug site that’s proposed for 200 Disraeli Fwy., failed to address key questions.
“We didn’t walk away with any questions answered… There was nothing to do with what they (are) going to do if the crime rate skyrockets. They just didn’t address it at all, they just shut it down,” said Audrey Kohinsky, one of the 150-plus people who attended the meeting.
“As soon as someone would ask about it, they’d say, ‘Nope, we’re here to talk about the project and what we’re going to do and what we’re putting into place,’” she said Friday.
Because so many of the questions were about safety, one attendee said the meeting eventually felt “performative.”
“I just don’t know what they expected to happen,” she said. “Of course, all of the community members were going to come with concerns and be upset, and then to be given almost an automated message every time back (saying) ‘We can’t talk about that.’”
Media barred from meeting
Members of the media were barred from the meeting, which was described as an opportunity to “ask questions and provide feedback to the consultation team and the minister of housing, addictions and homelessness Bernadette Smith” in a letter sent out to residents.
On Friday, Smith said questions posed by attendees were heard, and safety measures, including an increased police presence and teams of Downtown Community Safety Partnership members, were discussed.
“We were really letting them know that the police are there to enforce, we’re coming from a harm reduction approach, we’re bringing people to treatment so that we can keep them alive,” she said.
Manitoba has applied to Health Canada to operate the supervised drug site, which is set to be managed by the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg. The federal website says the application remains under review “awaiting key information.”
Smith said some attendees to Thursday’s meeting had suggested other locations for the site and that would be taken into account.
“If this structure that we’re proposing isn’t strong enough, what more measures can be put in. And if this isn’t the right location, then let us know,” she said.
Safety-focused town hall possible
A police representative who was present Thursday has offered to hold a safety-focused town hall, said Smith, who is the area’s MLA. She said she would attend it.
David Vrel, a Point Douglas resident, said the promise rings hollow.
He said the area doesn’t have enough police presence for the high level of crime, so blanket promises for increased security around the site aren’t an adequate plan, as far as he is concerned.
“You’re pretty much saying that we’re going to be secure on this magical police force who is already overworked and strained… it just feels like they really don’t care about us,” he said.
“It just feels like they really don’t care about us.”–David Vrel
Stephanie Casar, a council member of Our Lady of Lourdes parish on MacDonald Ave., didn’t ask questions at the meeting but said some in attendance were visibly frustrated by the end of the 90-minute meeting.
“I don’t know if the minister was prepared to address questions outside of a script, and I think maybe that’s where people were getting a little frustrated,” she said.
“The other people on the panel seemed a bit more willing to go down these roads, but I would say, safety, it wasn’t addressed head on.”
Casar said people on both sides of the issue were vocal about needing more details before getting on board.
“I think if they want to move this forward… then work with us and and engage us in the process of how you will help us, make us feel safe. Then we will be more inclined to be on board with what you’re trying to put together.”
Manitoba recorded 400 suspected overdoses or drug poisonings from Jan. 1, 2024 to Aug. 31, 2024, as per the most recent preliminary data provided by the chief medical examiner. There were a record 467 deaths in 2022 and 445 deaths in 2023.
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
Malak Abas
Reporter
Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.
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