Chilliwack’s Member of Parliament (MP) wants to know what constituents think about the creation of a supervised injection site in the community.
Referring to them a number of times only as “drug injection sites” in a press release issued Tuesday, Chilliwack-Hope MP Mark Strahl said he has mailed out a survey to all households in his riding.
“Some believe a drug injection site would help mitigate problems associated with illicit drug use,” Strahl said. “Others believe that a local drug injection site without adequate sobering and treatment beds will not help addicts get clean, or help our community deal with the issues surrounding illicit drug use.”
Advocates and most media outlets tend to use the broader term “supervised consumption site” or “safe injection site.”
Two local doctors, one an outreach physician the other an ER doctor, recently attended city council to ask for their support for a safe consumption site to help tackle the problem of overdoses in the community.
“A safe consumption site, in cooperation with opioid substitution, detox and social housing,” are some of the best ways to reduce homelessness, and crime associated with opioid abuse disorders, Dr. Chantal Chris told council.
“A supervised injection facility, offering counselling and prescription heroin or hydromorphone, removes the motivation for petty theft, reduces chaos in the life of an addict, improves adherence to social housing strategies, frees up ambulances for other urgent calls—and saves lives,” emergency room Dr. Mark Greidanus told the Progress in a follow-up story.
Strahl pointed out that when in government, the Conservatives implemented the Respect for Communities Act, which required the federal government to consult affected communities before allowing a supervised drug injection site to be opened, but the Liberal government announced plans to repeal this law late last year.
“Even if the Liberal government doesn’t believe we should have a say about a drug injection site opening in our community, I believe we should,” Strahl said in the press release. “I’m asking my constituents to please take a couple of minutes to respond to my survey so that I can relay the results to the Prime Minister.”
Strahl said his constituency has seen a marked increase in intravenous drug users in recent months.
“As a result, drug overdoses, discarded hypodermic needles, and property crimes to feed drug habits have skyrocketed,” he said.
The survey is comprised of two questions: “Do you believe that the federal government should be able to approve a “safe”/supervised drug injection site without community consultations?” And, “do you believe that a “safe”/supervised drug injection site should be opened in Chilliwack-Hope?”
Strahl is asking for the survey to be completed by Feb. 28. The survey is available to be filled out at www.markstrahl.com/injection_sites.
– with a file from Jennifer Feinberg
paul.henderson@theprogress.com
@PeeJayAitch
