New data suggests the realities of a controversial 72-hour detox site in Winnipeg might not align with the Manitoba government’s promises to improve safety by detaining people intoxicated by long-lasting drugs such as methamphetamine.
A recent public quarterly report on the site officially known as the protective care centre shows that as of the end of June, a total of 4,425 people had been admitted while intoxicated by alcohol, and only 26 were admitted for other substances. The site opened in December and started accepting people intoxicated by drugs like meth in March.
“This is a very expensive drunk tank,” said Joseph Fourre, who started the Singing Red Bear Foundation after his son, Harlan, died of fentanyl poisoning in 2023.
“It’s not what they promised us.”
Fourre, who is seven years in recovery from addiction, said the latest numbers show the new site isn’t addressing the real problem.
“You still see people out there in the throes of meth addiction and meth psychosis,” he said. “You see people out there in the middle of what we call an opioid fold, you know, that could be assisted.”
The most people the site has seen in a day is 38, though the average is 21, the new data says.
The centre opened after the province passed legislation allowing intoxicated people to be detained for an extended period of up to 72 hours. Proponents argued that could help with people who are under the influence of long-lasting drugs and pose a danger to themselves or others, but the longest stay recorded in the latest numbers is 45.5 hours.
Dr. Jim Simm, a former Manitoba chief psychiatrist who previously filed a court challenge of the law that allowed the site to open, said he was struck by how few people on drugs actually end up at the centre — and how briefly the ones who do end up staying are there.
“There was a big push to get this centre in place, and hoping that it would address the perceived problem with methamphetamine and people intoxicated on methamphetamine causing disruptions on our street,” he said.
“It certainly sounded like an interesting idea, with proper safeguards in place. [But] it’s not being used very much.”
Dr. Jim Simm, Manitoba’s former chief psychiatrist, says he wonders if the money used on the detox site could have been spent on something better. (Gary Solilak/CBC)
Fourre said as it stands, the thinking behind the new facility seems to be to “collect people, think we’re getting them sober, then putting them back on the street,” instead of creating more resources to help people struggling with addictions.
Both Fourre and Simm said they wonder if the money being spent on the detox site could have been put to better use.
“Even if you pass laws to involuntarily commit people or hospitalize people for a few days, it really doesn’t do anything to address the problem,” Simm said, adding more specific data is needed for the public to really have a sense of how well the site is working.
Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith was not available for an interview Thursday.
In an emailed statement, a provincial government spokesperson said people who come to the secure, medically led facility “are monitored by health and social services professionals who offer medical care and referrals to various mental health and addictions supports and other community services.
“Our government is committed to helping lead people to a pathway of recovery, and the [centre] is one of many initiatives that supports that goal,” the statement said.
Jeff Bereza, the Progressive Conservative critic for addictions, said in an emailed statement the latest numbers were disappointing but “not surprising,” accusing the NDP government of failing to deliver on its promises.
Jeff Bereza, the Tory critic for addictions, says the latest numbers on the detox site were disappointing but ‘not surprising.’ (Bryce Hoye/CBC)
“The NDP promised action to protect those struggling with addiction and to protect society from individuals suffering from that addiction,” Bereza’s statement said.
A disclaimer on the latest data notes limitations due to variability in reporting accuracy and consistency but says reliability will improve over time as data collection and processing methods evolve.
Four of the 20 safe rooms at the site were made available to people under the influence of meth or other non-alcohol substances in March after assessment at hospital, the report says.