US EditionScrutiny for supervised drug consumption site in Victoria’s ‘Downtown Eastside’
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, JUL 10 – The postponement allows further consultation and aligns with new community safety plans amid 20,979 site visits and 36 overdoses managed in April, Island Health data shows.
- Victoria city council postponed a motion to request Island Health close the Harbour supervised consumption site until November 6, 2025.
- The motion, proposed by Councillor Marg Gardiner, stems from concerns that supervised consumption sites promote drug use and fail to address addiction.
- The Harbour site, operating since June 2018, recorded about 3,000 visits in June 2025 and is part of Island Health's seven sites that averted an estimated 2,140 deaths by October 2024.
- Health Minister Josie Osborne expressed willingness to continue discussions, while Mayor Alto emphasized the need for more evidence for a well-informed debate on this complex issue.
- The postponement allows consultation with health authorities and stakeholders, while Greater Victoria continues facing overdose deaths with 36 reported by June 10, 2025.
31 Articles
31 Articles
Scrutiny for supervised drug consumption site in Victoria’s ‘Downtown Eastside’
The value of a supervised consumption site in the heart of Victoria’s most downtrodden neighbourhood is under debate — is it a life-saving tool, or a magnet for drug dealers victimizing those in an encampment on the site’s doorstep?
castanet.net
Scrutiny for supervised drug consumption site in Victoria's 'Downtown Eastside'
The value of a supervised consumption site in the heart of Victoria's most downtrodden neighbourhood is under debate - is it a life-saving tool, or a magnet for drug dealers victimizing those in an encampment on the site's doorstep? Victoria Coun. Marg Gardiner said the facility is a draw for both &...
Scrutiny for supervised drug consumption site in Victoria's 'Downtown Eastside' – Energeticcity.ca
VICTORIA — The value of a supervised consumption site in the heart of Victoria’s most downtrodden neighbourhood is under debate — is it a life-saving tool, or a magnet for drug dealers victimizing those in an encampment on the site’s doorstep? Victoria Coun. Marg Gardiner said the facility is a draw for both “those addicted to drugs and for drug dealers, who prey on the weak and ill among those encamped” in the three blocks along Pandora Avenue.…
Motion to request closure of Victoria supervised consumption site postponed
A Victoria councillor’s motion to ask Island Health to close the supervised consumption site in the city has been postponed until November. Coun. Marg Gardiner proposed the motion saying the sites promote the “acceptance” of drug use. “The consumption sites and acceptance of open drug use, which were to solve the opioid crisis, have not succeeded,” Gardiner said. “The experiments have failed.” Mayor Marianne Alto proposed a motion to postpone th…
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