Richmond, B.C., council approves drug consumption site motion
Coun. Kash Heed's motion drew opposition from residents who said there wasn't adequate public consultation
Richmond city council on Tuesday voted 7–2 to approve a motion that asks health authorities to explore the possibility of a supervised drug consumption site at the city's hospital.
Coun. Kash Heed's motion drew heated protests at Richmond City Hall on Monday, with some residents criticizing the lack of public consultation.
Protests continued Tuesday with numerous people gathered outside city hall chanting, "No drugs! No drugs!"
Heed's motion does not immediately approve the safe consumption site, but asks Vancouver Coastal Health to explore the idea. It would also need approval from federal regulator Health Canada.
It also calls for multiple levels of consultation, including with police forces and city residents. Councillors acknowledged that the site — if health authorities deem it necessary — is likely years away.
The motion directs staff to "administer a practicability analysis to gauge the potential benefits and challenges of implementing a drug consumption site within the Richmond General Hospital Precinct."
Heed's push for a safe consumption site in Richmond comes as 26 people in the city died of toxic drug overdoses last year, among more than 2,500 who died across the province.
Dozens of people signed up to speak at Richmond council over two days, an overwhelming majority of whom were opposed to the site. The marathon meeting came a week after an initial vote on Heed's motion passed 8–1.
Richmond resident John Lee said councillors had rushed through an issue that was important to the city's residents.
"In your haste, you have created misinformation and misunderstanding," he said, echoing many other speakers on Tuesday.
"I hope council can slow down the process a bit and come up with a holistic solution for this complicated social issue."
A few residents, however, said the site may help save lives as part of a multi-pronged approach to address the toxic drug crisis.
Trevor Tablotney, who lost his brother to toxic drugs in December 2022, spoke in favour of the motion on Tuesday.
"Listen to the medical professionals and the people that are experts, instead of bowing to the pressure of a bunch of people that have no idea what this even is," Tablotney urged council.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix has previously stated that the sites are an important tool in trying to limit deaths from toxic drugs.
Many of the residents in attendance on Tuesday stated that drug users would need addictions treatment instead of a supervised consumption site. Heed's motion asks for city staff to create a monitoring and evaluation system that would track how many users are referred to addictions treatment.
The city said in a previous statement that neither the proposed site nor its staff would be able to "hand out drugs to users, but [instead] provide access to addiction treatment and recovery services."
With files from Arrthy Thayaparan and Akshay Kulkarni