Manitoba is partnering with an Indigenous-led organization to expand the province’s first supervised intake site.
The Centre for Indigenous Health and Welfare, which submitted a proposal earlier this year to create an Indigenous-run facility, will be the province’s network partner in the development of the site, Prime Minister Wab Kinew announced Monday afternoon.
The wellness center will take the lead in the “coming months” in terms of consultations with network members, around the location of the center.
“We’ve looked at other jurisdictions – it’s clear that there will be an effect when a supervised intake site opens, in terms of the next few blocks around it, so we have to choose the location with that in mind. That means you probably can’t approach a school or daycare,” Kinew said.
“Are there other spaces where maybe we can expand a network plan with foot patrols and collaborate with authorities to make sure that the surrounding blocks absorb the ‘shock of opening a facility like this?’
In the spring, Kinew said the government was contemplating a domain near North Main Street for the supervised intake site, which would provide sterilized needles and other intake equipment. Staff will be on-site in the event of an overdose and to link users to services.
The NDP government promised in its budget to spend $2. 5 million this year on planmaking and development. The facility is expected to open in 2025.
Kinew said the government and AHWC will also compare the design of the service and how it fits into existing support for others living with addictions.
The Prime Minister stressed that the centre will be more than just a post where medicines are supplied under supervision.
You need medical supervision with personnel trained in the use of naloxone in case of overdose. He said staff will also refer other people to services, such as drug rehab or a number one care provider.
“We don’t need to just have a one-off interaction with other people who walk through the front door. We need to put them on a path to greater fitness in the future. “
The AHWC will be the government’s management of the facility once it opens, a government official said.
The outlet did not respond to a request for comment.
The Center for Aboriginal Health and Wellness already operates one of the province’s walk-in addiction clinics, known as the Quick Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinic. His clinic in downtown Winnipeg opened late last year.
According to initial knowledge from the Manitoba Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, there were 89 suspected deaths similar to the substance in the first two months of 2024, a number that may rise.
The 56 deaths reported in January are a record for a single month. Preliminary knowledge also suggests that there were 445 deaths in 2023 and a record 467 deaths in 2022.
Manitoba is the only province in Atlantic Canada that has a supervised catchment site.
For more than a year and a half, Sunshine House has been operating a cell overdose prevention system from an RV, the closest to a permanent one in Manitoba.
Provincial Affairs Reporter
Ian Froese covers the Manitoba legislature and provincial politics for CBC News in Winnipeg. He is also chairman of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. You can contact him at ian. froese@cbc. ca.
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