Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called on the federal government to shut down Montreal’s first supervised drug-inhalation centre while stopping in the city Friday, saying the site is a “drug den.”
The Maison Benoît Labre drew criticism from residents before it opened in April and in the months following, with some parents saying they were blindsided by the decision to have the centre in a building less than 100 metres from the Victor-Rousselot elementary school.
Located on Greene Avenue near Doré Street, Maison Benoît Labre also contains 36 studio apartments, a kitchen and drop-in centre for people who are transitioning out of homelessness.
At a news conference in a small park that borders both the centre and the school, Poilievre said other federal parties and their supporters in the media “want to make it sound like there’s a constitutional obligation” to allow supervised consumption sites to open anywhere.
“Kids should not have to cohabitate with hard drug use and crime.” Poilievre said. “Under section 56.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the government has the power to accept or refuse a supervised consumption site like Maison Benoît Labre.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that if he is elected prime minister his government would close supervised injection sites near areas where the public could be endangered and instead allocate money to treatment services.
In June, the Conservative leader sent a letter to federal Health Minister Mark Holland, requesting that the government revoke the exemption it granted to the centre to open in Montreal’s southwestern Saint-Henri neighbourhood.
He charged that the government’s policies, supported by the Bloc Québécois, “have increased feelings of insecurity and homelessness throughout Quebec.”
Andréane Désilets, executive director of Maison Benoît Labre, said in a statement Friday that the centre is working with the regional health authority, the municipal government and other stakeholders to ensure services are sustainable and integrated in the sector.
“The mission of La Maison Benoît Labre is to support the most vulnerable people in our society and has been a key player in the community for 75 years,” she said, adding that the centre did not want to “enter into a political debate.”
“We want to reiterate that the services we offer are essential to responding to the increase in homelessness and the overdose crisis,” Désilets said.
Quebec’s Health Ministry declined to comment on the Conservative leader’s demand.
Opposing cohabitation
Poilievre’s appeal comes days after Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante announced the city would mandate the Office de consultation publique de Montréal to conduct public consultations on solutions to the homelessness crisis.
The administration said it was seeking ways for residents to live more “harmoniously” with the unhoused population and provide more input on projects like Maison Benoît Labre.
On Friday, the Conservative leader said that the concept of cohabitation was “Orwellian terminology” invented by politicians like Plante and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Asked how he would support people with addiction, Poilievre said a Conservative government would offer “real treatment” to end addiction rather than finance supervised consumption centres, but did not provide details about a potential solution or policy.
“The only solution is not to use hard drugs,” he said.