Coalition of Montrealers calling on Quebec to not allow supervised drug site to open next to Saint-Henri school

A coalition of parents, merchants and residents of Saint-Henri held a press conference in Montreal’s Southwest borough Monday morning, asking Quebec’s Minister of Social Services, Lionel Carmant, not to authorize a supervised injection and inhalation site at Maison Benoît Labre.

Since the announcement of the site, parents have voiced their concerns about the fact that the centre is located less than 100 metres from Victor-Rousselot elementary school. Information sessions have been held between community members and the centre.

Maison Benoît Labre is a non-profit that serves unhoused people. Its under-construction facility in the Saint-Henri neighbourhood will comprise 36 studio apartments for people experiencing homelessness and living with addiction or mental health issues.

“We are fighting for them, not only for my kids but for all those kids,” said Chantal Gagnon, a spokesperson for Victor-Rousselot Elementary Parent Group (OPP). “The tenants will have very big problems with mental issues, drug addicts so it’s just unacceptable.” 

There will be an overdose prevention centre on the first floor, where people who use drugs can bring their own substances to consume under staff supervision. It would be the first centre in Montreal to allow drug inhalation in addition to other modes of consumption.

The Maison Benoît Labre building is set to open Nov. 15, though its plans for supervised drug use are still under review by federal regulators.

“From a commerce perspective, we’re next to the Atwater Market, a historic marketplace here, which is a center for tourism, which is a center for everything, for the residents. I just don’t want to see that go by the wayside,” said James Graham-Simpkins, a spokesperson for business owners in the area. “It’s very, very concerning.”

At the press conference, the coalition presented a report made public Monday by INRS professor Carolyn Côté-­Lussier, who specializes in criminology, social psychology and health, which paints a picture of the impacts of supervised drug-use sites on children.

The coalition says the professor studied 39 supervised drug-use sites across the country and found there is a risk when placing them next to a school with young children. The group also questions the CAQ’s decision to allow this site after being opposed to a project to open a supervised drug-use site in 2017 near a school.

In the past, the organization’s executive director, Andréane Desilets, has told The Canadian Press it has strived to raise awareness of the new residence and overdose prevention centre in Saint-Henri.

A neighbourhood cleaning brigade and full-time employee dedicated to school-zone security are among the measures she has said the non-profit will deploy to keep the area around the Victor-Rousselot campus safe.

But the parents are worried about the use of hard drugs so close to their children as well as safety in the park that sits between the site and the school.

“I’m calling for our elected representatives and the minister to open up the discussion, to open up their ears and their eyes and their hearts and their minds as well, to look for a creative solution for this,” said Graham-Simpkins.

CityNews reached out to the office of Lionel Carmant, in an email they say: “A supervised inhalation center is an important service for reducing the harm associated with drug use. It’s an approach our government believes in at a time when the opioid crisis is hitting Quebec harder and harder.”

“We are sensitive to the fears and questions of the citizens living in the neighbourhood. The project has the support of local elected officials, community organizations, and parents. The Public Health Department has received a request for approval of the supervised inhalation center, and the situation is still under analysis.”

-With files from The Canadian Press