Pubdate: Sat, 31 Dec 2016
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Times Colonist
Page: A3

CITY HALL REOPENS AFTER SECURITY ADDED TO NANAIMO DRUG SITE

Nanaimo City Hall reopened Friday after a portable toilet and a security
guard appeared near an unauthorized overdose prevention site in the
parking lot.

Nanaimo Coun. Gordon Fuller, who helped set up the drug site, said the
safety measures - which he considers silly - were paid for by the city.

"Any perception of any safety risk has existed for at least a decade, and
nobody has done anything about it," he said. "People have gone there and
done drugs and had homeless camps for well over a decade."

Fuller and fellow councillor Jim Kipp, frustrated over what they see as a
slow response to the growing number of overdose deaths, on Monday erected
a temporary drug-injection site in the city hall parking lot. It consists
of a canopy with tarp sides, tables and chairs, and is staffed by
volunteers trained to deliver the overdose antidote naloxone and to call
emergency services.

On Thursday, several Nanaimo City Hall offices shut down, with the city's
chief administrator citing safety concerns.

The City of Nanaimo posted a statement on its website Friday, warning that
the safety of such "pop-up" sites are uncertain and advising against their
use.

"The City supports a response to prevent overdose deaths, but stresses
that such a response needs to comply with provincial health standards to
ensure the safety of the users," the statement says. "Unregulated sites
are a serious public health risk… Consequently, the City has asked
Vancouver Island Health Authority and the RCMP to take immediate action to
address the risk caused by this unregulated site, to ensure the safety of
the participants."

The municipal union, CUPE 401, has said that while it supports the idea of
a safe-injection site, it did not like the way this one was erected.

"We have concerns about the health and safety of local residents,
employees and the very users this was meant to support," the union said in
a letter online.

Island Health has said it had hoped to open a temporary
overdose-prevention site in Nanaimo as early as next week, but that it has
failed to find a suitable location.
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