Renowned constitutional lawyer Julius Grey is prepared to ask for an injunction to prevent the opening of a safe injection site in Montreal.
On Sunday Oct. 15 Spectre de Rue, which has been operating a needle exchange on Ontario St. near Beaudry St. for two decades will become a safe injection site.
But parents say that is just too close to Marguerite Bourgeoys School, located two blocks away on Panet St., for comfort.
Earlier this year many parents spoke to CTV to express their concerns about having a safe injection site located so close to their children's school, even though they were forced to admit that there have not been any problems with drug dealers in the area.
Despite repeated requests for consultations with the government, none happened.
But now, parents say they are becoming increasingly worried, say they have been ignored, and have asked Grey to take action.
"They should have had a consultation on the site itself: where and how. It's true that in all these cases, when you have halfway houses and all these things people don't want it in their neighbourhood, but some have better reasons than others," said Grey.
He said the fact that Ontario St. is marked as a school corridor is reason enough to move the safe injection site, and wants to government to address the parent's issues, ultimately stopping the site from opening.
"They should have consulted, they should have heard the parents, they should have taken what they said into account, they should have gone somewhere else, a little further. And I'm not telling you it has to be miles and miles and miles. In a city that's impossible, you'll find a school within a kilometre or two wherever you are. But not right on the corridor," said Grey.
He said if Spectre de Rue does not alter its plan, he will head to court and ask for an injunction.
The parents have also gotten the attention of Coalition Avenir Quebec MNA Jean-Francois Roberge, who they say has been pushing to move the site.
"There are other ways we can have the supervised safe injection site just outside of the safeway to school, and farther from the school," Roberge said.
Grey said that, at the moment, no court action is being considered. But if nothing changes and the site opens as planned, he says he will have no choice but to go that route-- obtaining either a declaration that it is an "illegal" site, or that the hours are illegal.
