Public school board opposes proposed supervised consumption site

The proposed supervised drug consumption facility on York Street is too close to a public high school, officials from the Thames Valley District School Board say. 

"The idea of a supervised injection site, where people have a safe place and are cared for and have their needs met and are looked after is not something we have any concerns about. The only concern we have is the proximity to the school," said Paul Sydor, the school board's superintendent of student achievement. 

"We don't oppose supervise consumption facilities at all, we just would prefer that they were not adjacent to our schools or nearby our schools." 

Usually facililities such as liquor and beer stores, marijuana dispensaries and methadone clinics are at least 300 metres away from schools, and Sydor would like the same to apply to supervised consumption sites. 

The school's sports field is half a block away from the Beal athletic field. 

Beal already has a methadone clinic across the street on Dundas Street, a clinic the school board would rather not have there, Sydor said. 

A 'safe, clean' place

But medical officer of health Chris Mackie said the opposition to the facility is rooted in a misunderstanding of how such clinics can clean up neighbourhoods. 

"I understand why these concerns are coming forward. I offer that anyone form the school board or parents that have any concerns come down to our temporary overdose prevention site.

"What they'll see is a clean, professional clinical service that is doing a lot to improve the neighbourhood its in and we expect the same at the supervised consumption facility locations." 

The health unit considered the 300 metre buffer when choosing its proposed drug consumption locations but decided they don't have to use the guideline because there's no distribution of drugs or alcohol going on at the sites. 

"What we looked at was find a location that is as far as possible [from schools] and also meet the needs of the clients we serve," Mackie said.

London's planning committee will hear from people who are for and against the two locations on Monday. 

The London District Catholic School Board does not oppose the location because its closest schools, St. Mary Choir Catholic Elementary School and Catholic Central High School, fall outside of the 300 metre buffer.