Manitoba informs residents of revised location for supervised drug consumption site

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This article was published 05/12/2025 (299 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government announced a new location Friday for the province’s first supervised drug consumption site, months after its initial proposed location ran into public opposition.

The government is eyeing a single-story building at 366 Henry Ave. in inner-city Winnipeg, west of Main St. It is several blocks away from the former site east of Main St. that many area residents opposed due to its proximity to homes and a high school.

“The proposed supervised consumption site … is located where people need the services and sits well beyond 250 metres from any school or registered child care facility,” Bernadette Smith, the minister for housing, addictions and homelessness said in a statement.

The NDP government has planned to have the site up and running in January, and people in the area were notified Friday about two consultation meetings scheduled for next week.

The announcement caught Ed Gallos, president of Master Roofing, off guard. His company is adjacent to the planned site and his parking lot abuts it.

“I am concerned for the safety of our employees and the security of their property — liked parks cars — and of the people who visit us,” Gallos said. 

The supervised consumption site will not supply drugs, but will allow people to inject drugs with staff on hand to respond to overdoses and guide people toward treatment. It is to be run by the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg, a non-profit health agency.

Winnipeg police were still working on what their involvement might be at or around the site.

“Definitely there’s discussions going on,” police chief Gene Bowers said.

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives have opposed the project and said there’s nothing to stop people from using the site continuously rather than getting treatment.

“We’ve got an environment here where it’s just a circular effect,” Tory legislature member Jeff Bereza said.

The government said people will be connected to treatment options, and supervised consumption is a better alternative to what’s happening now.

“Open drug use is happening in the streets, in parks and the bathrooms of local businesses. When people use drugs in public their safety and the safety of the community is being compromised. The supervised consumption site is an important part of the harm reduction approach,” Smith said.

Supervised consumption sites require approval from Health Canada and the province has submitted its application.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2025