Promotion of Swan River cleanup event draws flak amid discarded needle problem

An invitation for Swan River residents to participate in an upcoming community cleanup event has stirred concerns about how the western Manitoba town's chronic discarded needle problem is being handled, its mayor says.

In a since-deleted Facebook post published this past weekend, Prairie Mountain Health called on community members to help out in a spring cleanup event hosted by the Swan River Sharps Committee and the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network.

The event, scheduled for April 24, promised participants prizes, testing for sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections as well as "snacks and fun," according to the western Manitoba health authority's post. Swan Valley Regional Secondary School was one of the institutions tagged in the post.

Swan River Mayor Lance Jacobson said Monday he believes the event was intended to focus on picking up used needles.

He said several parents called him to question the way it was promoted.

"They're worried about obviously their safety, their children's safety," Jacobson said. "It's just a mixed bag of a whole bunch of emotions, that people are feeling that they're tired of this."

Last fall, Jacobson told CBC more than 500,000 needles had been handed out over the preceding year in the town, which has about 4,000 people, and the surrounding area.

Shohan Illsley, the executive director of the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network, said the cleanup event has been going on for seven years in Swan River, and the promotion for the latest event was "absolutely not targeted at children."

"The poster said everybody's welcome," said Illsley.

"We do train folks who want to be able to pick up discarded needles if they find them. We've done this all seven years," she said, adding that participants who don't want to pick up needles can tell someone in the crew to do it for them.

"We certainly don't want people doing anything out of their comfort zone or training zone."

Illsley said the hazard is similar to picking up broken glass, and that people concerned about accidentally hurting themselves with needles can participate in other ways.

Kids 'putting their health at risk': Tory MLA

Progressive Conservative MLA Wayne Balcaen, who represents Brandon West, tabled the invite at the legislature Monday.

"Participants who join the minister's crack commando committee for the day and pick up the most dirty needles can win a prize, then get tested for sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections and, of course, have snacks followed by 'fun,'" he said during question period.

"Can the minister advise what prizes she is offering the children and residents who are putting their health at risk to pick up these used needles?"

Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith responded by saying the NDP government developed a disposal plan — something the previous Progressive Conservative government did not do, she said.

"That member can continue to use divisive rhetoric. We will continue to work with the municipality," said Smith. "Under that government, they had no plan. They continued to distribute. We have a plan."

Following complaints about needles in the Swan Valley area, in November, the province gave the four regional health authorities outside Winnipeg $30,000 each to develop disposal and cleanup plans, saying that would be a requirement to get further funding for harm reduction activities.

No students participating in cleanup: division

Swan Valley School Division superintendent Rob Tomlinson said in a statement posted on social media Tuesday that while the division applauds the cleanup effort, students are not part of the event.

"Our students' safety is paramount," he said. "We assure our parents that our students will not be participating in the community spring cleanup event."

Prairie Mountain Health said in an email Tuesday the initiative is mainly focused on removing litter and debris that has accumulated during the winter, though the cleanup does include the safe collection of improperly discarded sharps.

"As with many spring cleanup efforts across Manitoba, this initiative is a collaborative effort to improve community safety and cleanliness," the health region's email said.

"Volunteers will be provided with information on how to report any sharps found during the cleanup so they can be safely handled by designated team members."

Prairie Mountain Health said it has installed seven new bins for needles in the community since January. It added that it and its partners are conducting daily sharps sweeps and responding to public reports through a dedicated call line.

Jacobson said the fact they're responding to calls is not the point.

"You still have needles scattered all over the place," he said. 

"The minister has to do what, you know, the minister has to do for the province.

"But we do what we have to do for our community. And we do not agree with … the distribution of needles in this province and the lack of enforcement in dealing with drug dealers."