During this week’s committee of the whole meeting, Councillor Marg Gardiner will have a motion on the floor in which she seeks to shut down one of Victoria’s only supervised consumption sites (SCS).
Gardiner first had this motion come before city council in a meeting on July 10th, but her colleagues ultimately voted to refer this motion to another time.
The Harbour, located at 941 Pandora Avenue, is one of few SCSs in the City of Victoria, and is overseen by Island Health.
The facility opened in June 2018 under a federal exemption, allowing for the supervised use of illicit substances. The exemption is set to expire in June 2027.
Gardiner states in her motion that The Harbour “has become a magnet for those addicted to drugs and for drug dealers who prey on the weak and ill among those encamped in our city.”
Her initial motion sought to have Mayor Marianne Alto advocate for the closure of The Harbour by August 31st, on behalf of the city council.
The Harbour provides supervised consumption for injection, inhalation, oral and nasal drug use so people can be safely monitored and treated immediately if they overdose.
Additionally, the site provides harm reduction supplies, harm reduction education and referrals to health services, addictions services as well as other social supports.
Substances can be tested onsite to detect contaminants such as fentanyl, and a mental health clinician is onsite during operating hours to aid those in need.
During the July 10th meeting, Councillor Chris Coleman seconded the motion, but opposed its merits.
“I’ve wandered on, on numerous occasions about how much I dislike council member motions because I don’t think they’re examples, usually, of good governance,” said Coleman.
“I think they are sometimes open to a political direction that we want to fight, and have the public watch us fight.”
He added that he did not think the motion’s recommendations would be achievable by August 31st and that he does not believe in pushing the SCS outside of Victoria.
Following Coleman sharing his thoughts, Mayor Alto moved to refer the motion to a later date.
Alto said that because city council had approved a number of actions to take place in the vicinity of the 900 block of Pandora Avenue, through the City’s Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan, she believed it would be better to come back to this matter after a few months had passed.
“That will give us some time to do that work and see what impact it has, if any,” stated Mayor Alto.
She added that by coming back to this, it would give the City some time to speak with the Province, Island Health and numerous other organizations who have a hand in the harm reduction landscape of Victoria.
Later in July, The Harbour came under criticism because VicPD undercover officers witnessed and arrested a man selling drugs to those in line to be admitted to the SCS.
Now, Councillor Gardiner’s motion is coming back to city council on Thursday, November 6th.
