Calgary supervised drug consumption site to close on June 30

Alberta's government is set to close the province's inaugural supervised drug consumption site, the Sheldon Chumir Centre in Calgary, at the end of June. Rick Wilson, Alberta's minister of mental health and addiction, confirmed the closure, stating that the province will instead deploy street teams to provide round-the-clock assistance to those in need.

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What we’re going to be doing is we’re going to be putting teams right on the street, so I forget the actual name of it, but there’ll be teams out on the streets. They’ll be walking 24-7 out there. If somebody needs help, they’ll be able to get them the help that they need.

The Sheldon Chumir Centre, located in the Beltline neighborhood, opened in 2017 as a response to the escalating opioid and overdose crisis. However, the site has been a source of controversy, with local residents and businesses citing concerns about increased social disorder and crime in the vicinity. These complaints have fueled calls for its closure.

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However, public safety as well as the coordination of our police services, as well as some of our social agencies, that’s where we’re involved.

Critics of the government's decision argue that shutting down the supervised consumption site will push drug use and overdoses into public spaces, potentially leading to more fatalities. They contend that the move will exacerbate the existing public health challenges rather than solve them. The closure has drawn sharp criticism from harm reduction advocates and some community members who view the site as a vital service.

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So at this point, (we are) still really advocating for increased resources. We want to make sure that there’s a net gain in terms of availability for those recovery beds so that we can best serve those vulnerable Calgarians, but also address some of the crime and public safety needs that Calgarians have identified particularly close to that site.

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas acknowledged that health care falls under provincial jurisdiction but highlighted the city's involvement in public safety and the coordination of police and social services. He expressed the need for increased resources and a net gain in the availability of recovery beds to address the needs of vulnerable Calgarians and mitigate crime and public safety concerns, particularly those associated with the area near the consumption site. The province also indicated it would work with organizations like Alpha House and the Mustard Seed to connect individuals with addiction services.

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We work close with Alpha House and Mustard Seed and all the groups that, if somebody does need help, we’ll get them to help that the need. And that’s the whole point of the whole thing, is not enabling people to