By Jessie Weisner

Business owners and residents concerned about supervised consumption site

Jan 18, 2019 | 4:21 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — It’s been a contentious issue since plans to build a supervised consumption site in Medicine Hat were first announced.

Now that this location at 502 South Railway Street has been chosen, some business owners and residents in the area are disappointed they weren’t told before the decision was made.

“Yeah it would have been nice to know ahead of time before seeing it on the news,” says Samantha Oliver, a resident living about two blocks from the site.

“We had no information other than what were reading or seeing on the news,” says Derek R. Martin, co-owner of Pattison Funeral Home & Crematorium.

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HIV Community Link says it started sharing the specific information with those in the area on Monday, the day before the location was officially announced. Representatives say they released the information as soon as it was logistically appropriate.

Corey Ranger with the foundation says after spending months on preparation and community consultation, they can’t wait any longer as the services are needed now.

“We are in the midst of a crisis in our community,” says Corey Ranger, clinical lead for safe link, HIV Community Link Southeastern Alberta. “The need to value human life far outweighs the need to have any further delays in this process.”

The Pattison Funeral Home is just a couple of buildings away, and the owner just wishes he could have had a chance to voice his opinion before the decision was made.

“We really don’t know what to do at this point because it just seems like its a fait accompli that they’ve decided to do this,” says Martin. “They don’t care whether anybody objects, it’s just happening and we’re just gonna like it.”

However, Ranger said everyone in the area had the chance to learn about the site.

The foundation has been undergoing public consultation for the last year, hosting more than 40 stakeholder meetings, six Q & A meetings and sending out 6,000 informational postcards.

“We’ve done a very robust process with our engagement and all of this has told us that with the current site we have selected,” says Ranger. “502 South Railway Street is the best possible location to provide the best possible outcomes for everyone in our community.”

Residents have a number of concerns, from the impact on property values to needles being left on the ground.

To try and address some of those concerns, HIV Community Link is hosting two Q & A sessions next week, and five additional sessions throughout the month of January, February and March.

“What we know is that people are most anxious and fearful when there’s a lack of knowledge,” says Ranger. “So it’s on us to make sure we provide some information so we can help relay some of those concerns.”

Ranger says the businesses surrounding the site have been invited to those meetings, and they say they will be attending.

“We understand there’s some meetings of concerned neighbours,” says Martin. “I believe we’ve registered to attend that.”

Through this, Ranger hopes the message of the severity of the opioid epidemic comes across.

“We need to make sure that we remember throughout all of this that we live in a time right now that there’s two Albertans dying every day because of an opioid overdose.”

It’s unclear how long it will be before the site is operational, but construction workers have already begun working inside the building.