PCs Urge Ottawa to Cancel Mobile Drug Site After Recent Assaults
WINNIPEG — Manitoba Progressive Conservatives are urging the federal health minister to revoke the operation of Sunshine House’s mobile drug injection van after recent assaults in the immediate vicinity that left two Winnipeg women with serious injuries.
Portage la Prairie MLA Jeff Bereza, PC Critic for Housing, Addictions and Homelessness, wrote a letter to Health Minister Marjorie Michel urging her to revoke the federal exemption granted to Sunshine House to operate its Mobile Overdose Prevention Site (MOPS) in the area near 631 Main St.
“In the past month, there have been two serious assaults in the area immediately surrounding the MOPS van,” said Bereza. “In both of the assaults, the victims had nothing to do with the drug use taking place in the area. They were innocent victims of crimes committed by perpetrators linked to the drug activity.”
In March, a 45-year-old woman was assaulted and robbed as she tried to help a man who collapsed in front of her from a suspected overdose at the nearby MOPS van. Last week, a shop owner was assaulted by drug dealers blocking the entrance to her store. The store is adjacent to the parking lot where the MOPS van is parked.
Community members and local business owners report an increase in assaults, thefts, and open drug activity surrounding the MOPS van. The drug injection van operates under a Section 56.1 exemption. The exemption is intended to support harm reduction while maintaining strict conditions to ensure public safety. Residents say those conditions are not being met.
“I’ve met with community members who say that Sunshine House is failing miserably when it comes to ensuring public safety,” said Bereza. “There doesn’t appear to be a safety plan in place. These assaults demonstrate a failure to maintain the public safety requirements tied to the federal exemption. I’m calling on Ottawa to review the exemption immediately and take corrective action.”
Calls are growing for the federal government to revoke the exemption granted to Sunshine House for the operation of the mobile site until a clear, enforceable safety plan is in place to protect the surrounding community.
“The safety of Manitobans must come first,” Bereza added. “Harm reduction and community safety must go hand in hand. When safety conditions are not being met, action is required.”
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