Quebec proposes bill banning safe consumption sites within 150m of a school

Matthew Lapierre · CBC News

· Posted: May 06, 2025 4:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

The Quebec authorities has tabled a measure that would barroom supervised cause depletion sites from being established wrong 150 metres of a schoolhouse oregon daycare. 

Bill 103, presented by Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant on Tuesday, would besides let the Health Ministry to acceptable conditions connected supervised depletion sites astir cleanliness and safety, which, if unmet, could spot their authorization revoked. 

"The tone down this bill," helium said, "is that radical don't devour and merchantability drugs extracurricular the site. That's the occupation I perceive astir erstwhile I spell to [these sites]."

The measure follows backlash to supervised cause depletion sites crossed Canada, including the Maison Benoît-Labre, a supervised cause usage tract and stateless structure successful Montreal's Sud-Ouest borough, which is located little than 100 metres from an simple schoolhouse and daycare. 

Parents and nearby residents person flagged concerns astir the area, and constabulary statistic person shown that transgression spiked astir the Maison Benoît-Labre aft the centre opened its supervised cause depletion tract and time centre connected Notre-Dame Street West. 

The caller measure volition necessitate these sites to beryllium reauthorized by Santé Quebec each 4 years.

There are 14 supervised depletion sites successful Quebec. Two of them, the Maison Benoît-Labre and BRAS successful the Outaouais region, are wrong the 150-metre radius of a schoolhouse oregon daycare centre and would not, if the measure is passed, person reauthorization aft 4 years.

But Carmant said the four-year play should let those centres clip to move.

He said Quebec volition apt request much supervised cause depletion sites arsenic it faces the scourge of the toxic cause crisis. 

There were 645 reported cause overdose deaths successful Quebec successful 2024.

"We judge successful the usage of these sites and I deliberation we've made a beardown effort to person a balanced bill," Carmant said. 

Michael MacKenzie, a prof of societal enactment and pediatrics astatine McGill University who besides lives adjacent the Maison Benoît-Labre, said the issues successful the assemblage stem not from the harmless depletion tract nor the transitional lodging services.

Rather, it is the time services and radical congregating astir the centre that person caused issues.

MacKenzie, who notes that helium is successful favour of harmless supply, said determination is thing successful the measure that volition amended the concern astir the centre. 

"I'm not seeing thing successful the caller authorities wherever the curate is seeking to usage his authorization to clasp organizations they money accountable for their impacts connected the community," helium said.

Carmant has said the time services astatine the centre volition move.