Calgary Council puts Calgary Supervised Consumption Site decision back on province
A decision about whether to close the Supervised Consumption Site (SCS) in Calgary's Beltline is back in the hands of the Alberta government.
Council voted to replace a motion to advocate the province for the site's closure with another motion to have the mayor write to the province to ask them to make an informed decision about the future of the site. The latter motion was then defeated in a 5-9 vote against.
The decision, which came after about an hour of debate, essentially means city council is taking no official position on whether to close the SCS in the Beltline.
"We care about saving lives, we care about the community. All of those things matter to us. This is not our jurisdiction," said Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
"If (the province) feels that their processes can be better, that they can do this differently -- they can have wraparound supports, detox facilities -- we're happy to support that," she said
Calgary's SCS opened exactly seven years ago to the day, first as a temporary program at the Sheldon Chumir Centre.
Although health care is squarely a provincial responsibility, Alberta's addictions minister asked councillors to make the decision.
"It is important for the entire City Council, not just the mayor, to weigh in via a vote on whether Council would like to see the Sheldon Chumir site closed," reads a letter from Dan Williams to the mayor earlier this month.
"It is clear Calgarians do not support, nor is it the community's interest to support, new drug sites across the city," wrote the addictions minister.
In a statement, Williams said, "City Council was given a straightforward opportunity to weigh in on the future of the drug consumption site. Instead, Council voted to keep the site as-is. Despite my offer to make changes to services with local input, Council’s vote has made it clear they support the status-quo."
Coun. Courtney Walcott, who represents the area in which the SCS operates, said it should not be the responsibility of council to come up with a plan for any possible future sites.
"They tell us to stay in our lane all the time. I will respond in equal force: if they want to make health decisions, make them," said Walcott.
"Council is not in the position to go ahead and make health decisions without appropriate information."
Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said he voted in favour of sending the note to the province. He said he believes it would "send the message to Calgarians that we understand that we have a problem here."
"There is a lot of social disorder taking place around the Sheldon Chumir, but it is also an essential and underfunded and overtaxed part of what should be a more comprehensive response to the addictions crisis," he said.
"At the end of the day, this is just pure politics precipitated by the province, and we'll see how it plays out."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Federal government to stop paying B.C. woman for job she doesn’t have
There appears to be an end in sight for the strange predicament of a B.C. woman who was being paid by the federal government for a job she was hired for but never actually did.
The loonie is trading at lows not seen in years. Here's what it means for Canadians
The Canadian dollar is trading against the U.S. dollar at levels not seen since 2020 as the combined pressures of economic outlooks, elections, and energy prices weigh. Here's what you need to know.
Mother of teen victim in mass killing suing Manitoba's child welfare agency
The mother of a 17-year-old victim in a mass slaying in Manitoba is suing a child welfare agency for allegedly failing to protect the girl.
Dodgers aim to clinch World Series in Game 5 against Yankees
Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64, first in the NL West during the regular season) vs. New York Yankees (94-68, first in the AL East during the regular season)
Canada's Halloween forecast: Record-setting sweet weather for some, frighteningly frigid conditions for others
Trick-or-treaters will flock to streets across the country Thursday night with the Canadian staple, the parka, covering costumes for some, while others will be treated to mild conditions.
Trudeau's Liberals launching new ads, MPs told in caucus meeting
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced his caucus for the first time Wednesday since rebuffing calls from two dozen Liberals to resign. He seemed to satiate some MPs’ concerns, with a presentation on party campaign strategy that includes rolling out new ads.
'Nature is just amazing': Manitoba dog seen nursing kitten
A long-time animal foster said the recent behaviour of her dog and cat is something she had never witnessed.
Starbucks is making a popular add-on free of charge
Starting next week, Starbucks customers will no longer pay more for this add-on for their orders.
'Not going to play their games,' Singh won't help Tories, Bloc topple the Liberals
Jagmeet Singh says the NDP will not support the Bloc Québécois and Conservative leaders to help them bring down the Liberal government.