Point Douglas residents question proposed consumption site location – Winnipeg [Video]

Residents of Winnipeg’s Point Douglas neighbourhood are holding a town hall meeting about the province’s first supervised consumption site in response to what they say is a lack of consultation with area residents.

The proposed location for the site is 200 Disraeli Freeway. The site is still under review by Health Canada, who would need to provide an exemption under Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to operate.

Point Douglas resident Christine Kirouac has lived in Point Douglas for five years. She says repeated thefts, break-ins and violence fuelled by addiction have left the neighbourhood feeling defeated.

“It’s stressful to live here,” she said.

Kirouac says she and other residents on the Point Douglas Residents’ Committee don’t oppose a supervised consumption site.

“We want to focus on helping the addicts, too — that’s going to benefit us, it’s going to benefit the community. We are all a part of the same community,” she said.

But …