Pubdate: Thu, 19 Oct 2017 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2017 The Edmonton Journal Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 Author: Jonny Wakefield Page: A3 A MAGNET FOR CRIME, DRUG USE, CRITICS WARN Supporters of Edmonton's Chinatown and urban community league members say they 're disappointed with the Ottawa's approval of four supervised drug consumption sites in the city's core. "We feel that it's an extremely unfair decision, and not well-informed," Michael Lee, chairman of the Chinese Benevolent Association, said Wednesday. "The basic rights of some communities (were) totally ignored." Alberta Health announced Wednesday that its federal counterpart had approved three supervised injection sites in Edmonton's downtown core and supervised consumption services for inpatients at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Supervised injection would be offered at the Boyle McCauley Health Centre, Boyle Street Community Services and the George Spady Society - agencies that already serve people who use drugs. Advocates say supervised injection reduces deadly overdoses and minimizes the spread of diseases by providing drug users with sterile needles. But some critics say concentrating the sites in the core will make those neighbourhoods a magnet for drug use and crime. Lee criticized the consultation process, saying some business owners near the proposed injection sites did not know about the plan. Access to Medically Supervised Injection Services Edmonton, the coalition behind the application to Health Canada, said it knocked on 850 doors and met with community leagues, law enforcement, business associations and substance users. Warren Champion, a director with the Central McDougall Community League, said the locations don't make sense because most overdose deaths - around 70 per cent, according to Alberta Health - happen outside the core. Lee and Champion worried the cluster of sites risk turning their communities into Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, home to Canada's first supervised injection site. "There's no rationale for it," Champion said. "If you look at the maps of where people are dying, you can argue maybe there should be four injection sites, and maybe one should be in the urban core." Marliss Taylor, manager of Boyle Street Community Services' Streetworks program, said the sites would not be the same as facilities in Vancouver and Montreal, which each have about 15 booths. Edmonton's facilities would be "micro-sites": five booths each at Boyle Street and Boyle McCauley and three at the George Spady, she said. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt