‘Socioeconomic’ review of safe drug-use sites to include Sheldon
Details of an Alberta review of supervised consumption sites are expected to be announced in the coming days.
A spokesman for associate minister of mental health and addictions Jason Luan said Thursday that information on the province-wide “socioeconomic” review will be announced in the next week or so.
But that review will now encompass both proposed and existing sites, contrary to what the UCP has previously stated. In June, the government said the review wouldn’t affect existing sites, like the one at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre, and that they would continue operating as usual.
“The thinking evolved,” said Steve Buick, a spokesperson for Luan. “The initial suggestion from the platform appeared to be two separate reviews, but as soon as the minister started touring and looking at the sites, he realized that the evidence that he’s asking the review to look at is from the existing sites, so it’s just artificial to do two separate reviews. The evidence is right there.”
The pending announcement comes after Luan toured Calgary’s supervised consumption site at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre this week.
In a statement, Luan said he met with “a number of AHS staff and volunteers” at Safeworks.
“I appreciated their experience and insight,” he said in the statement.
“I also met with Calgary police, business owners and residents in the Beltline. I know there is a range of concerns in Calgary; the issues I heard about today are an example of what prompted our government to commit to the review of Supervised Consumption Sites.”
The minister said he can assure Beltline residents and people in the wider community “that their concerns will be heard.”
Premier Jason Kenney said in a tweet on Aug. 10 that the Alberta government is appointing an expert panel “to consult with affected communities on the social-economic impact of drug sites to determine if they should be relocated.”
Luan said he expects to have findings from the review by the fall.