Hundreds protest the province's addictions strategy outside closing safe consumption site
Hundreds of Calgarians rallied in support of Alberta's safe consumption sites (SCS) Saturday as a deadly stretch of fatal overdoses continues in the province.
About 200 people waved signs and listened to speeches at Central Memorial Park, which is across the road from the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre and the Safeworks SCS.
Trevor Fedan took the mic to speak about the impact Safeworks has had on his life.
"It's not a want," Fedan told CTV News. "As users, we need a place like that with supportive staff. A place where we're not going to be judged. At Safeworks, if you buy into the program, the world is your oyster."
Fedan was joined Saturday by other SCS clients, doctors and neighbourhood residents.
They all believe the recent provincial government decision to shutter the facility will take a toll on those who need it the most.
The site is a place where clients can use substances with clean equipment and nearby medical professionals.
In 2020, almost 54,000 people utilized Safeworks.
"I'm angry that our government is taking actions that are going in the wrong direction," Lori Vrebosch said. "There's no compassion, there's no understanding. I'm angry (because) I support harm reduction and evidence-based strategies."
Vrebosch lost her son to an accidental fatal overdose. She's not alone.
Last year was Alberta's deadliest year ever for overdoses.
1,144 opioid-related deaths were recorded.
A month after announcing the Safeworks closure and shuttering similar programs in other municipalities, the United Conservative government argues it is increasing treatment access.
The province has pledged to overhaul the way resources are made available to those in need, and says it is planning two facilities to replace Safeworks.
Details about those facilities have not been made available.
An interview request sent to the associate minister of mental health and addictions was not returned Saturday.
His office instead sent a statement citing community disruptions that led to the Safeworks closure and promising better treatment policy than the previous NDP government.
Press secretary Justin Marshall went on to say, "we understand that some wish to adopt a Vancouver-style social chaos approach, including flooding the streets with taxpayer-funded oxy-contin style narcotics, but we firmly reject that view.”
Protestor and physician Bonnie Larson says her group believes Jason Luan should resign.
"He has not even identified this complex problem correctly," she said. "This is a death crisis where we're losing 4 people a day in our province. This community clearly supports Safeworks in this location."
The province closed the busiest supervised consumption site in Canada last year.
The government cited "financial irregularities" when it pulled funding from ARCHES in Lethbridge, but no charges were laid following an extensive financial investigation.
Ninety Calgary businesses banded together to show support for similar harm reduction earlier in the week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.