Residents speak up about proposed supervised injection site in downtown Kitchener

More than 100 people packed the room at Kitchener's Public Library on Wednesday night to voice their concerns about Kitchener's proposed supervised injection site. 

The public forum was hosted by the Region of Waterloo Public Health and the Olde Berlin Town Neighbourhood Association.

Waterloo Region Police Service chief Bryan Larkin, Sanguen Health Centre executive director Chris Steingart, the region's director of infectious diseases Karen Quigley-Hobbs and the region's manager of information and planning in harm reduction Grace Bermingham were there to give information about the injection site and answer questions.

People asked about safety, policing and property value, among other things. 

A few residents are worried a supervised injection site will mean extra policing, but Larkin said there is no intention to have an increased police presence at the proposed site. 

"The reality is that's often a deterrent, that the person may feel trepidation, may feel anxiety," he said. 

"We do believe there's an impact on policing: one is balancing the perception of fear and the perception of crime," Larking said, adding WRPS right now doesn't have concrete numbers on the officers that would be in the area. 

"We're doing some workload analysis," Larkin said.  

Safety, location, property 

Other concerns were raised around the potential location of the proposed Kitchener site, 115 Water St., and the dangers it might bring to the neighbourhood. 

One resident said he doesn't want his child to see other people injecting drugs.

"Right now, people are using drugs in unsafe locations," said Chris Steingart from Sanguen Health Centre. 

"If we do this right, people in that home next door are not at risk," he said.

Residents were also concerned about their property values. One man said he was depending on the equity of his home to retire and putting a supervised injection site in the neighbourhood would diminish its value.  

Karen Quigley-Hobbs said the region will be conducting more formal consultations with neighbours and businesses to identify the "immediate risks" in the community and come up with solutions through a "risk-mitigation plan."

"We're also looking at surrounded areas who have also already implemented these sites," said Quigly-Hobbs, referring to the supervised injection site at South Riverdale in Toronto. 

Other residents who were supportive of the site, said they understand it's necessary for the region's overdose crisis. 

Supervised injection sites are now operated in several Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Toronto and London. 

The formal consultation process on Waterloo region locations is scheduled for August.

Two other potential locations identified by Waterloo regional staff are 150 Main St. and 149 Ainslie St. in Cambridge.