Rizqy outpaces Carmant and introduces a bill
(Quebec) The establishment of supervised hard drug consumption sites within 150 metres of schools and daycares in Montreal, and within 250 metres elsewhere in Quebec, says a bill tabled by Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy on Wednesday. She is outpacing the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant.
Since the end of August, the latter has been preparing a bill to ensure that these sites – but also day centres for the homeless – are not located near schools and daycares. This is in reaction to the controversy surrounding the Benoît Labre House, located near an elementary school in southwest Montreal.
The Liberal bill "aims to prohibit the provision of supervised consumption services in the vicinity of an educational childcare service in a facility or an educational institution offering preschool, elementary or secondary education."
It grants a period of two years to organizations that offer such services to comply with the ban.
It should be noted that the QLP is lowering the distance it previously demanded from 250 to 150 metres for Montreal. A month ago, La Presse demonstrated the headache that the establishment of such an exclusion radius would represent in this city because of the presence of many schools and daycares on the territory of the city. Minister Carmant has requested a legal opinion to analyze this issue.
"We are already working on this with the legal affairs department," he said during a press scrum. I have already said that we want, yes, distances, but also to facilitate access to care for drug addicts. We will study what she presented to us, but we want something a little broader.»
His own bill will not be tabled by the end of Parliament on December 6. This will be during the next session of the National Assembly; Mr. Carmant spoke of "spring."
Ontario recently decided to ban supervised drug consumption sites within 200 metres of schools and daycares. This measure inspires the Legault government.
Near schools, "there shouldn't be any. There shouldn't have been and there won't be," said Premier François Legault at the end of August. The problem is that "no one wants it in their backyard".
"We have to try to find places that are not close to schools, not close to children. It's never easy to find these places," he added.
The premier stressed that a supervised drug consumption site "saves lives," according to experts. It helps prevent overdoses.
The Maison Benoît Labre's drug consumption site had been the talk of the town in the National Assembly even before it opened. In October 2023, Lionel Carmant denounced the "step in my backyard" while the Liberal Party relayed the concerns of parents and called for the cancellation of the project.
The Liberals had asked to "prohibit the establishment of any supervised inhalation or injection site within 250 metres of a school or educational childcare centre." They had moved a motion to that effect in the Blue Room, but the government refused to give its consent to debate it.
In June, the government gave the same welcome to a Parti Québécois motion to "put in place a by-law to impose a minimum distance" between an injection site and a school or daycare.
Since the end of August, the latter has been preparing a bill to ensure that these sites – but also day centres for the homeless – are not located near schools and daycares. This is in reaction to the controversy surrounding the Benoît Labre House, located near an elementary school in southwest Montreal.
The Liberal bill "aims to prohibit the provision of supervised consumption services in the vicinity of an educational childcare service in a facility or an educational institution offering preschool, elementary or secondary education."
It grants a period of two years to organizations that offer such services to comply with the ban.
It should be noted that the QLP is lowering the distance it previously demanded from 250 to 150 metres for Montreal. A month ago, La Presse demonstrated the headache that the establishment of such an exclusion radius would represent in this city because of the presence of many schools and daycares on the territory of the city. Minister Carmant has requested a legal opinion to analyze this issue.
"We are already working on this with the legal affairs department," he said during a press scrum. I have already said that we want, yes, distances, but also to facilitate access to care for drug addicts. We will study what she presented to us, but we want something a little broader.»
His own bill will not be tabled by the end of Parliament on December 6. This will be during the next session of the National Assembly; Mr. Carmant spoke of "spring."
Ontario recently decided to ban supervised drug consumption sites within 200 metres of schools and daycares. This measure inspires the Legault government.
Near schools, "there shouldn't be any. There shouldn't have been and there won't be," said Premier François Legault at the end of August. The problem is that "no one wants it in their backyard".
"We have to try to find places that are not close to schools, not close to children. It's never easy to find these places," he added.
The premier stressed that a supervised drug consumption site "saves lives," according to experts. It helps prevent overdoses.
The Maison Benoît Labre's drug consumption site had been the talk of the town in the National Assembly even before it opened. In October 2023, Lionel Carmant denounced the "step in my backyard" while the Liberal Party relayed the concerns of parents and called for the cancellation of the project.
The Liberals had asked to "prohibit the establishment of any supervised inhalation or injection site within 250 metres of a school or educational childcare centre." They had moved a motion to that effect in the Blue Room, but the government refused to give its consent to debate it.
In June, the government gave the same welcome to a Parti Québécois motion to "put in place a by-law to impose a minimum distance" between an injection site and a school or daycare.