Maison Benoît Labre asking Quebec for financial help if it’s forced to move

A supervised drug consumption site in Montreal’s St-Henri that may have to move following pending provincial legislation is asking the Quebec government for financial compensation.

Maison Benoît Labre, which has been at the heart of controversy since opening in 2024, could be forced to relocate if a bill presented to the National Assembly last month becomes law.

Bill 103 aims to prevent supervised drug consumption sites from being set up within 150 metres of a school or early childhood centre (CPE) or daycare. Maison Benoît Labre is well within that radius.

The legislation would require such sites to be reauthorized by Santé Quebec every four years. If passed, Maison Benoît Labre would lose authorization and eventually be forced to move.

If that happens, the site is asking the province to actively support the relocation of such organizations and provide “adequate financial compensation for Maison Benoît Labre to ensure the continuity of essential services to vulnerable populations without interruption or increased precariousness.”

“We need support on every aspect of this move,” Andréane Désilets, the executive director of Maison Benoît Labre, told CityNews. “We need to know what the plan is also, and we need clear guidance on what the objectives are, and what will need to be in place in order to respect this new law.”

Désilets says ultimately she hopes Maison Benoît Labre will be able to stay in its current location, but the preliminary search for a new building has already begun.

“We did find something that’s about 30 metres further down at the street of Notre-Dame,” said Désilets, who was in Quebec City as part of special consultations and public hearings on Bill 103. “So unfortunately, it would also mean a lot of displacement for the population and it is not an easy corner just in general. It’s not a safe corner.

“Having a second location would double a lot of these costs, so not just the actual move and the actual buy and the construction, but also afterwards, we do need support for the activities and also making sure that we can upkeep this building, this new building.”

Maison Benoît Labre says it recognizes the legitimacy of the public’s concerns that led to the bill.