The situation has become “untenable,” say neighbors of the Cactus supervised injection center in downtown Montreal. Residents of a social housing building on Berger Street maintain that in recent months, the constant presence of drug addicts, incivility and threats have become their daily lot. They demanded the relocation of this service on Thursday.
“Often, when we go out [de notre immeuble]there are drug users who are in front of our door injecting [de la drogue]. We have to wait for them to leave before we can go out. When we come back, it’s the same thing,” said Gaétane Lupien, tenant for eight years of the NPO building Un roof en ville on rue Berger. “This summer has been worse than ever. We’ve seen drug addicts in the building, in the basement, and when we tell them to leave, they send us to the devil. […] We have reached the point where we are afraid to take our trash into the basement for fear of running into someone. »
“It’s the torture of gout,” adds another resident, Claude Boulanger. Every day, we are faced with people who inject themselves [de la drogue], who smoke crack, to drug sellers. They stand on both sides of the street, in gangs. They are returned without embarrassment. »
This summer has been worse than ever. We’ve seen drug addicts in the building, in the basement, and when we tell them to leave, they send us to the devil.
Not against the site, but…
Exasperated residents and building managers launched a heartfelt cry to the Quebec government and the City of Montreal on Thursday. They want the authorities to help Cactus find a more suitable site for its supervised injection center. “We are not at all against the injection site. On the contrary, we think it is essential. But we find that this service is not well provided,” argued Guy Robert, president of the board of directors of the NPO.
He points out that residents never opposed the opening of the supervised injection center seven years ago and that they are used to rubbing shoulders with the homeless and drug addicts, but that the climate has deteriorated so much that the situation has become “intolerable”. A resident was even reportedly attacked and injured recently.
Guy Robert says his organization has to spend large sums of money to repeatedly repair the damaged intercom system, broken doors and other damaged equipment. He deplores that the residents of his NPO are left to their own devices by the authorities. “We have the impression that the street is a no man’s land and that, once there, it is job belongs to nobody. »
The NPO participates in the meetings of the good neighborly committee set up by Cactus, but without seeing any notable progress, apart from the recent installation of a chemical toilet for drug addicts. “Our wish is that Cactus be open 24 hours a day in a premises large enough to accommodate users and that they do not have to wait outside,” indicates Nancy Larente, administrator of the NPO .
Discontent at Cactus
The exit of the residents of the NPO did not please the general director of Cactus, Jean-François Mary. “It’s clearly “not in my backyard”. It’s an abandonment of the attempt to live together,” he explained, accusing the NPO of having broadcast photos and videos of drug addicts in the street. “For me, it’s a total dehumanization of these people. »
According to him, the distress situation in which drug addicts find themselves is notably attributable to the impoverishment of the population and the housing crisis. He believes that the federal and provincial governments should address the issue of guaranteed minimum income and take concrete actions to reduce mortality linked to overdoses. “This is the result of decades of government inaction. »
In a press scrum on Thursday, the minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, maintained that there was no question of moving the service. “We want to work with the organization to improve social cohesion. I am here to offer services, not to make them disappear. They are citizens like any other, they need help,” he said.
For his part, the head of public security on the executive committee of the City of Montreal, Alain Vaillancourt, recognized that the situation was difficult for neighbors. “To experience this on a daily basis is unacceptable. But Cactus is a necessary resource for vulnerable people,” he said.
The Mobile Mediation and Social Intervention Team and the police have increased their presence, but other actions could be taken to improve the situation, he said.