New Westminster, B.C., council approves controversial overdose prevention site
Residents, local business owners and councillors were divided on whether the site's permit should be renewed
New Westminster, B.C., councillors voted to extend the permit of an overdose prevention site on Begbie Street on Monday.
Starship Health Contact Centre, operated by the Purpose Society and Fraser Health, will continue to operate for the next 18 months, with councillors approving amendments to ensure that Fraser Health will work to address community concerns.
The council agenda contained 32 letters submitted by community members, with about half in support of the permit extension and half opposed.
Supporters said the site saves lives, while critics argued it's linked to more crime and disruptive behaviour in the area.
New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone was among the site's supporters.
"It really provides a valuable service to the community that I don't think we can go without," Johnstone said Monday morning on CBC's The Early Edition, prior to the vote.
The motion had asked that the permit for the site be extended for 18 months, or until an alternate overdose prevention service is operational, whichever is sooner.
When council approved the site back in 2021, it was unanimously supported.
But Johnstone noted support has shifted since then, partially because the city now has a new council, and partially because drug use has changed in the city.
He said the centre is able to support people who are injecting or consuming drugs orally, but that the majority of those using drugs in New West are now doing so by inhalation, and many do so near the centre.
"They do want to be near where they know there's life-saving care, and so they are spending their time outside nearby," said Johnstone. "People have a lot of concerns about that."
One letter from the Community Living Society, which supports adults who have developmental disabilities, said staff and clients often feel less safe when visiting their New West office, which is located near the overdose prevention site.
It said staff and visitors have experienced violent incidents and theft.
"We believe [extending the permit] would add to the current problems and therefore we are opposed to it being approved," it read.
Johnstone said the city is working on opening an inhalation centre in a different location for a longer-term solution, but in the meantime, the current one needs to stay open.
He said the site has done more than just supervised consumption. It has connected more than a thousand people to various health services, including detox programs.
"Ultimately, closing this site is not going to address all the ills that are being faced in urban areas right now. It will cause more deaths and it won't really fix any of the problems," he said.
Safe consumption sites have caused controversy in other Metro Vancouver jurisdictions. Hundreds protested the opening of a drug consumption site in Richmond last year, which was ultimately halted, and the year prior, the City of Vancouver relocated an overdose prevention site in Yaletown.
With files from The Early Edition