Council endorses Innisfil St. location for SCS in Barrie

Innisfil Street is getting Barrie’s supervised consumption site (SCS), provided Health Canada and the province agree.

City council gave final approval early Tuesday morning to endorse 11 Innisfil St., also known as 80 Bradford St., Unit 940.

An SCS provides a safe space and sterile equipment for individuals to use pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of health-care staff. Consumption means taking opioids and other drugs by injection, smoking, snorting or orally.

“This is not a Band-Aid solution. This is a comprehensive way to address the disease of addiction,” said Coun. Natalie Harris. “It is a disease like any other disease. No one chooses to be an addict.” 

“We need to do everything in our power to help these people recover, if possible,” said Coun. Clare Riepma.

“The buck always stops with us as to what’s going on in our community, and that includes those struggling with addiction,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman.

More than 20 people made deputations on the matter, speaking for and against that location — which council approved by an 8-2 margin.

“We have people in the neighbourhood who are holding the (SCS) operator accountable,” said Coun. Keenan Aylwin, who represents this part of Barrie.

In a recorded vote, Mayor Jeff Lehman, Deputy Mayor Barry Ward and Couns. Ann-Marie Kungl, Clare Riepma, Keenan Aylwin, Natalie Harris, Sergio Morales and Robert Thomson voted for the site. Couns. Mike McCann and Gary Harvey voted against.

Coun. Jim Harris did not vote, as he’d declared a conflict of interest because he has a family member who works for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Simcoe County Branch, which would operate the SCS.

“I just can’t fathom putting an SCS in a residential area and having a daycare 30 metres away,” said Harvey. “I really question the due diligence the applicants have done on this.”

“The communication and process was beyond horrible, in my opinion,” said McCann. “I have a severe problem if the residents directly across from it weren’t notified. If they are missing the boat on that one, what else?” 

McCann said the city should pressure the federal and provincial governments to deal with treatment, rehabilitation and recovery.

Christine Nayler , Amanda Maynard, Aaron Maynard, Krista Westerneng, Camran Qureshi, Victoria Scott, Anne Cleaveley,  Louise Hansen, Darien Marinos, Taylor Ronaldson, Jonaleah Baguan and Lhankee Alviar, Katherine Hankinson, Kimberly Capone, Cailyn Fitzgerald, Kenzie Churchward, Caitlin McKenzie, Pauline Bradshaw, Shelby Jones, Chris Ridding and Amanda Ridding all made deputations concerning the endorsement of this site. 

Christine Nayler lost her 35-year-old son, Ryan, to drugs.

“If he had safe access to the drugs, he would still be alive today,” she said. “Ryan didn’t need to die. Please vote yes (to the SCS).”

Dr. Anita Arvast has lived on nearby Perry Street for about a year.

“I support the site. Why? Because we need one now, we needed one yesterday,” she said. “And it’s in my backyard. We need this now to prevent deaths. Nobody chooses to die from using toxic drugs. This helps, this actually solves more problems.”

Kenzie Churchward lives on Parkside Drive and supports the SCS.

“If you are not in favour of the SCS, you are not in favour of saving lives,” she said. “The selfish attitude of not in my back yard has to charge.”

But others took the other side of the argument.

Katherine Hankinson, 75, has lived at 18 Perry St. for 31 years and said communication about the SCS was poor.

“Nobody consulted us. I don’t have a computer, nobody phoned us, nobody came to the door, nobody put a leaflet in my mail box,” she said. “It just feels we are being forgotten about and dumped on.

“We just don’t want this, we really don’t.”

“I could throw a dart at Barrie and not hit a worse spot (than 11 Innisfil St.),” said Chris Ridding, who lives on Perry Street. “This (SCS) should be where it would do the most good, and that’s the downtown core.”

Louise Hansen has lived on nearby Perry Street for 20 years and has concerns for her safety.

“We have always felt safe in this neighbourhood,” she said. “As a single woman, I will not feel safe in my neighbourhood anymore. I am totally for a supervised consumption site. I know they are needed to prevent overdoses, but I feel this is not the correct area. It is a residential area.”

Hansen said downtown Barrie would be a better location.

“This will affect everything for my family,” said Aaron Maynard, who has three young daughters. “We cannot afford the financial and emotional cost of being forced to leave our home.”

His wife Amanda also spoke, asking for a 60-day delay on a decision on the site, saying there needs to be a better strategy than an SCS.

“The entire region is facing a mental health and addiction crisis, so this is not good enough,” she said.

City council's endorsement motion includes a number of conditions.

The application for the proposed SCS at 11 Innisfil St., would be endorsed with an understanding that the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit and CMHA would work with the city to address fencing, landscaping, access, security cameras, discarded needle collection boxes, appropriate property standards and property maintenance measures at the site.

An SCS advisory committee would be established, as would a security plan and/or a needle sweep plan, along with any related neighbourhood integration matters.

The CMHA and local health unit would provide annual reports to council and city staff would report back on the progress of the above matters. 

The search for an SCS location was carried out by the lead applicant, the CMHA, and the health unit, as co-applicant, along with the SCS site selection advisory committee.

The health unit announced a few weeks ago that 11 Innisfil St., had been identified as the proposed location for an SCS. It would be operated by the CMHA and funded by the province.

The province will determine the SCS’s location, but city council was asked for a motion of support, for that specific location, for the application to the province. 

Once the SCS applications go to Health Canada and the province, it could be six months before there’s an answer.

Health Canada’s application includes a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) exemption that allows staff with the SCS to have the ability to test and handle drugs without any criminal sanctions.

The search for an SCS in Barrie has gone on for about two years. At one point, a Mulcaster Street was considered in June 2019, but was ultimately rejected. A site selection advisory committee was struck in the fall of 2019, did searches that year, during the spring of 2020 and the winter of 2021. There were also community surveys before Innisfil Street location was chosen.