Motion expected in Nanaimo, B.C. on asking for closure of safe injection site

Council in Nanaimo, B.C., is scheduled to hear a motion that could result in the city asking a provincial health authority to close a local overdose prevention site.

Coun. Ian Thorpe is expected to bring forward the motion at Nanaimo's council meeting today that will ask to "formally request" Island Health to close the site on Albert Street, next to city hall.

Mayor Leonard Krog says he expects the motion to be debated and deferred to enable experts and those with an interest on the issue to come before council at a later time before a decision is made.

The site has generated enough concerns about disorder and violence nearby that city staff previously proposed building a 1.8-metre-high fence that was intended to protect those at city hall.

Nanaimo council decided against the proposal at a committee meeting earlier this month, with Krog saying he was unsure about the fence's effectiveness as well as the "really problematic message" it would send about the challenges of disorder in the area.

Krog says in response to today's scheduled motion that while overdose prevention sites "unquestionably saves lives," the move reflects "increasing concern and frustration" for many residents who are unsure about the facility's effectiveness.

"In a time of scarce resources, I think many people are questioning whether or not those resources could be expended and indeed save more lives in other aspects of dealing with our street disorder addiction issues," he says.