A researcher’s report released Monday suggests that the opening of the supervised drug inhalation center (CIS) at Maison Benoît Labre could have harmful impacts on the health and well-being of children at Victor school. -Rousselot located less than 100 meters away.
At the request of the parent participation organization (OPP) of the Victor-Rousselot school, researcher Carolyn Côté-Lussier, associate professor at the National Institute of Scientific Research, examined 39 supervised injection sites ( SIS) in Canada. The analysis shows that on average, injection centers are located 603 meters from a school establishment. The minimum distance observed is 110 meters and concerns the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Service which is located near the private Westside Montessori School.
However, the CIS project at Maison Benoît Labre, which will open its doors in mid-November, is located some 80 meters from the Victor-Rousselot school attended by nursery and primary school children, which concerns parents , merchants and residents of the area who, for months, have opposed the project. Especially, they point out, that the Victor-Rousselot school is among the most disadvantaged schools in Montreal.
The researcher also examined studies carried out on the implementation of SIS elsewhere in Canada and around the world. “Studies are often carried out based on vulnerable clients, i.e. deaths avoided for drug addicts. But there are very few studies, if any, on the impacts on the community and even fewer on single-parent women or children,” notes Chantal Gagnon, mother of two children aged 6 and 7 and spokesperson for the members of the OPP Victor-Rousselot.
According to researcher Carolyn Côté-Lussier, there is, however, “a risk that the implementation of an SIS near a primary school will have a detrimental impact on the health, well-being and academic success of children.”
In addition to the inhalation center, the Benoît Labre project will also include 36 housing units for homeless people with mental health or drug addiction problems, which is also problematic, according to Mr.me Gagnon.
Parents and business owners in the area are urging the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, not to authorize the CIS and are calling for the housing project to be abandoned. Last September, they recalled, the minister indicated that we could not impose a CIS so close to a school. “We don’t feel that our local elected officials are being listened to,” says Jean-François Gauvin, parent of a child who attends the Victor-Rousselot school, regarding the mayor of the Sud-Ouest district, Benoit Dorais, and Councilor Craig Sauvé. “We want to send the message higher, to Minister Carmant, so that he sees that there is no social acceptability. »
Opponents of the project have not ruled out the possibility of going to court and filing a request for an injunction if the project goes ahead.