Poilievre wants to shut down Montreal's supervised drug-inhalation site and others that 'endanger the public'

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, the 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. Vowing to close such sites across the country, Poilievre said they have made "everything worse." 

"We will close safe injection sites next to schools, playgrounds, anywhere else that they endanger the public and take lives," he said, before disputing the use of the term "safe injection site." 

"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."

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.

A spokesperson for Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Ya'ara Saks said in an email Friday that while Ottawa does not provide core funding to supervised consumption sites, those sites save lives. 

"To be effective, these services need to be easily accessible by those who need them which often means that they are located inside services they already access," the spokesperson said. 

"We need a full continuum of care so people can stay alive to make it to recovery which includes: prevention, enforcement, treatment and harm reduction."