Coalition says safe drug use site near Montreal school was 'poorly planned'

Parents and members of the business community in Montreal's Saint-Henri neighbourhood are speaking out and trying to stop a housing and safe drug use project because of concerns that it's too close to a school.

Since the start of the school year, parents of children who attend Victor Rousselot Elementary School have been voicing concerns about the new building that is under construction.

On Monday, they called for a stop to the project.

"This was poorly thought out, poorly planned," said merchant James Graham-Simpkins.

Graham-Simpkins and others don't want the safe drug use site in their neighbourhood.

The project is run by the Benedict Labre House non-profit and would consist of 36 apartments for homeless people suffering from mental health and addiction issues.

"They act like you have to collaborate. Why do I have to collaborate? I'm here to fight for my kids and not only my kids, the kids from the school," said Chantal Gagnon.

The building is a few metres from the school's playground and parents worry about the exposure their children will face.

They cite a recent study that looked at 39 drug consumption sites across Canada. On average, they say those locations are at lease 600 metres from a school.

"We have to suspend the project until they analyze the data, until they analyze the report from the professor and the researcher," said Gagnon.

The Minister of Social Services (MSSS) said the centre is an SBUSP (Site temporarier repondant a un besoin urgent en matiere de sante publique), and that it is in a category exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which is granted by the director of public health..

"When the MSSS receives a request from a regional public health department to set up a site to meet an urgent public health need that requires the handling of controlled substances, a thorough analysis of the request is carried out," said director of communications Francis Martel. "The role of the MSSS is mainly to ensure that all the conditions laid down by Health Canada are met."

A decision on the fate of the site will be made after an analysis.

A spokesperson for Quebec Social Services Minister Lionel Carmat said Public health received a request to approve the drug consumption site but the situation is still bein analyzed.

"We now need a meeting with Lionel Carmant and (public health director) Dr. Luc Boileau from Sante publique because they have the authority to sign the exemption," said Gagnon.

The coalition of parents, community members and merchants are working with lawyers to try and get the project stopped.

"There's more than reason to be concerned," said lawyer Estelle Savoie-Dufresne. "There's real damages that can be forecast in this situation. We do hope that they will be able to have a solution before November."

The project is set to open its doors by Nov. 15, but the coalition is not ruling out taking legal action to stop that from happening.