Cohabitation a concern for residents near St-Henri's new safe drug use site
Less than two weeks after Montreal's first safe drug use site opened in the St-Henri neighbourhood, some neighbours say cohabitation has quickly become a concern.
Some residents say there is nudity, open-air drug use and excess belongings thrown about outside Maison Benoit Labre, a safe-use site that also has 36 studio apartments.
"I've never seen this. It's quiet here," said one neighbour, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation.
She said when she asked the facility's clients to move from her building's doorway, she was pushed.
"Every night there's screaming, fighting. I can hear it," she said.
The new neighbours have left residents divided.
"Well they need to live somewhere, so it's good. At least it's organized them," said St-Henri resident Emile Berube.
The home understands neighbours' concerns, said executive director Andreane Desilets.
The main entrance on Atwater Avenue is scheduled to open Friday, and Desilets said she expects it will help ease tensions.
Until now, clients have used the entrance on Greene Avenue, which faces an apartment building and an elementary school.
"We're still working out a few kinks, but it's not going to solve everything. Of course not, because this is Montreal, and this is a reality that everyone is going through," she said.
Government officials visited the safe drug use site on Friday to reassure local residents. Despite the difficult transition period, they said it's an important project.
"The safe drug use is going to keep people indoors instead of having them around the sites outdoors in front of children. So it's a positive addition," said Lionel Carmant, Quebec's minister responsible for social services.
Carmant said he expects the situation to improve in the coming days with the main entrance opening. The city said it will continue to work on better cohabitation.
"There will be works done by the City of Montreal, so the situation will be quite improved," said Benoit Dorais, mayor of the Southwest borough.
Maison Benoit Labre said it is also doubling its efforts on the ground, with a clean-up crew and a neighbourhood committee to address the concerns of people living nearby.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.