The City of Kelowna is pushing to have the supervised consumption site in the city’s downtown shut down when its current authorization expires.
Mayor Tom Dyas has written to the federal health minister asking that the facility’s 2027 renewal be denied.
“We feel collectively that, as you know, myself, council, and I think many individuals within this community, that the current system is not working,” Dyas told Global News.
The letter, dated Aug. 26, states, “the status quo of outreach urban health is not working, and the impacts concentrated around this specific location have become unsustainable.”
It goes on to say, “The city, RCMP and public safety partners continue to respond to serious and recurring incidents near the site, including gang activity, weapons-related assaults, intimate partner violence, drug trafficking, fencing of stolen property, arson, overdoses and other medical emergencies.”
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“We have had over 3,500 RCMP calls. We have had 371 different medical emergencies that our fire department has had to deal with,” Dyas said. “We’ve had over 450 bylaw occurrences.”
The incidents have been an ongoing concern for businesses and residents near the site.
In June, the adjacent alley was fenced off in an effort to mitigate impacts around the facility.
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City of Kelowna fences off problem-plagued alley
Global News spoke with half a dozen business operators near the site.
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None wanted to appear on camera, citing concerns about potential retribution, but they were largely supportive of efforts to shut the site down.
Advocates, however, say closing the facility could put other services offered at the Outreach Urban Health Centre at risk, including primary health care, at time when more services are needed, not less.
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“It just does not make any sense because all those services will be lost,” said Wes Zawertailo, executive director of People Lived Experience Society.
“And so often things are shut down with the idea that we’re going to make it bigger and better and offer more services, but they never come to fruition.”
According to Interior Health, the site recorded approximately 37,000 visits last year.
“It’s a life-saving health service for people who are using drugs,” said Dr. Sue Pollock, Interior Health’s chief medical health officer. “We are starting to see a decline in the number of overdose deaths in Kelowna.
“So there was a peak in overdose deaths in 2023 coming off the pandemic and now we’re starting to see a slow decline in the number of deaths, so we are encouraged that we are able to reach people and provide them the supports they need.”
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Dyas said council ultimately went to Ottawa after what he describes as a lack of timely action from the provincial government and Interior Health (IH) in addressing the city’s concerns.
He says the city had previously sent letters to both organizations.
But Pollock said discussions about the concerns raised by the city are continuing.
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“Conversations are ongoing and we recognize that the issues and challenges faced by the City of Kelowna in the downtown core, in particular, need to be addressed by all of us,” Pollock said. “It’s not going to be solved by one organization.”
B.C.’s health minister confirmed to Global News that the province had received a letter from the city several weeks ago.
“We have received the letter from the City of Kelowna and are responding to Mayor Dyas directly very soon,” said health minister Ravi Kahlon. “I also greatly look forward to meeting with Mayor Dyas and the City of Kelowna at UBCM, and working together to address his concerns and improve care for people in Kelowna.”
The federal health ministry, which received the latest letter from the city, was unable to provide a response before time of publication.
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Calgary’s supervised consumption site closes after nearly a decade of debate
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