Montreal lawyer looking at class-action lawsuit against supervised consumption site

A lawyer who lives not far from Montreal’s first supervised drug inhalation site, Maison Benoit Labre in St-Henri, is looking into pursuing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of residents in the area to have it shut down, or for them to be financially compensated for loss of property value. 

“It’s really puzzling why they chose that area. And this is causing damages to people, loss in property values, moral damages. And we are appalled, I think, as a community, that the politicians have totally let this situation down. They are washing their hands. It’s disgusting,” said Jérémie John Martin, a Montreal lawyer with Champlain Lawyers.

“There’s lawlessness, there’s incivilities, there’s delinquency, and this is right beside a school, which every day 300 children attend.”

Martin says that since Maison Benoit Labre opened in April people have been reporting numerous incidents in front of the centre that includes drug use and fights. The site is also located less than 100 metres from Victor-Rousselot elementary school. 

The city of Montreal said on Thursday that they are working to address residents’ concerns.

“We are going to work so that the people around us have a good living environment. We are in a transition right now and I perfectly understand the people who live nearby, the parents who also live with these things,” said Benoit Dorais, borough mayor of Le Sud-Ouest in Montreal.

Maison Benoit Labre opened on April 15th and offers a place for people to safely use injectable and inhalable drugs, it also has 36 housing units for people experiencing homelessness. 

“I would find it a shame if people who use lose their access to a safe place because overdoses happen all the time. I saw them in the middle of the street,” said Montrealer Melisa Fournier.

“It’s nothing against the people who use this center. These are people who need help. But sometimes as a society, you need to make a choice, choose the children or the drug users. In this case, I think we chose the drug users, and that’s why people are angry,” said Martin. 

Martin adds that the behaviour of the clients in the area around Maison Benoit Labre has created a circus-like atmosphere which is not compatible with family life for residents in the neighbourhood.

He says that he is currently in the process of preparing the lawsuit and that the city of Montreal and Maison Benoit Labre would be named in it. 

“When you see that we are choosing to accept delinquency instead of protecting the children and residents, this is a moral failure. And if the politicians don’t want to remedy it, maybe the courts will,” said Martin.