Riding Mountain MP Dan Mazier has introduced legislation which would ban supervised drug consumption and injection sites from operating within 500 metres of schools, daycares and playgrounds.
In introducing the bill, the Official Opposition’s Shadow Minister for Health calculated that more than 80 per cent of federally-approved sites are currently operating within that zone.
“Allowing drug consumption sites next to children is dangerous and unacceptable,” Mazier said.
“No parent should have to worry about their child stepping on a used needle in the playground or walking through a cloud of fentanyl smoke on the way to school.”
Supervised consumption sites are facilities where individuals can use illegal drugs because the federal Minister of Health has granted a legal exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
According to Health Canada, fentanyl is the most commonly used drug at federally approved consumption sites, accounting for nearly half of all visits, followed by methamphetamine.
Mazier referred to these sites as “drug magnets,” citing hundreds of reports to Health Canada with concerns relating to drug dealing, property damage, aggression, and the littering of drug paraphernalia.
“The Liberals have been approving drug consumption sites next to children without checking who is next door,” Mazier said.
“When I asked the Health Minister at committee how many approved sites are located next to schools and daycares, she could not answer because her own department does not collect that information.” he added.
At a press conference on Parliament Hill following the bill’s introduction in the House of Commons, Mazier pointed to specific cases to illustrate the impact these sites are having on families and communities.
He highlighted the example of Sandy Hill Child Care, a daycare in Ottawa that was forced to shut down in 2023 after a supervised consumption site opened blocks away. The daycare documented a significant increase in open drug use and aggression. Before the closure, the daycare had to hire a private security guard to accompany children for outdoor activities.
Read the full story in this week’s edition of the Dauphin Herald.
