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QUEBEC — The provincial government could adopt a law or regulations prohibiting the opening of day service centres for the unhoused near schools and daycares.
Facing growing concerns sparked by the location of the Maison Benoît Labre, Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant has asked the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the regional public health director to explore all possibilities to create a better framework where such centres are opened.
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Among the options would be a law or regulation stipulating that a day centre or a supervised safe drug-consumption centre could not be opened close to a school or daycare, officials in Carmant’s office said.
“All options are on the table,” an official said. “We are awaiting the recommendations of public heatlh.”
In a separate statement released to the media, Carment said he understands the concerns of parents who say their children are scared to go to school near the Maison Benoît Labre.
“Minister Carment is aware of the issues of cohabitation connected to problems of dependency,” the statement said. “We are working together with the city of Montreal, local elected officials, community organizations and citizen committees to find solutions.”
The statement adds that the minister has asked for advice on how to handle these situations “to avoid such situations repeating themselves in the future.”
Last week, Quebec endorsed the request by the city of Montreal to move the day centre for the unhoused at the Maison Benoît Labre following complaints from parents and residents. Maison Benoît Labre is a safe drug-consumption site and transition housing centre in St-Henri located next to an elementary school.
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The trouble remains where to put the housing centre given opposition from residents who don’t want it in their backyard, noted Premier François Legault in an interview earlier this week.
“We have to find areas which are effectively not close to schools, not close to children,” Legault said in an interview with QUB radio, now broadcast on 99.5 FM in Montreal. “It’s never easy to find such sites.”
He noted that experts have indicated that supervised consumption sites do save lives.
Legault expressed his support for a decision by the Ontario government to ban safe drug-use sites within 200 metres of schools and daycares. In that province, 10 of the current 17 centres will have to close or change what they do.
At a separate news conference, however, Quebec’s Liberals accused the Coalition Avenir Québec government of dragging its feet on the issue.
Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay told reporters the Liberals proposed a motion in the legislature in 2023 stipulating that such sites not be opened within 250 metres of schools and daycares. The government refused to budge, accusing the party of having “not in my backyard” syndrome.
“It’s another example of a government that doesn’t know what it’s doing,” Tanguay said. “We proposed something in a discussion on this a year ago, and they refused. It gives you a good idea of how bad this government is.
“I think we can have cohabitation (of such sites), but it’s a question of ‘Do you need it right next to the school or the daycare? There are other places.”
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