Petition against Richmond supervised consumption site sees over 21,000 signatures
An online petition in opposition to a potential proposal to establish a supervised consumption site near Richmond Hospital has already amassed over 21,500 signatures — a tally accumulated in a timespan of only 11 days at the time of writing.
“The introduction of such a facility will inevitably attract more drug addicts to our city. This could lead to an increase in crime rates and public safety issues that would directly affect us all – especially our children who are growing up here. Furthermore, there are potential health risks associated with these sites that cannot be ignored,” wrote Gady Tse, who initiated the petition on Change.org.
“Our concerns are will the communities with safe consumption sites would increase in drug-related crimes and public disorder incidents. Additionally, while these sites aim at reducing harm among users, they can inadvertently contribute to increased substance abuse due to easy access.”
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As a possible litmus test for civic participation and the community’s divide over the issue, the number of people who have signed the petition to date exceeds the number of votes received by any city councillor in the 2022 civic election. As well, the number of petition signatories is almost the same number of people who re-elected Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
Hundreds of people who signed the petition also left a comment to express their stern opposition.
“Vancouver Downtown Eastside is the first place to open a legal supervised consumption site in the whole North America. Now it is the worst area and completely ruined the Chinese community there,” wrote petition supporter Frank Yu.
This opinion was echoed by a number of individuals such as Jia Wen Shi, who said, “Don’t try to turn Richmond into the 2nd Chinatown (Vancouver Downtown Eastside).”
Another petition supporter, Fred Dee, added, “The introduction of injection sites in any municipality has been a disaster for the neighbourhoods. It brings crime, open drug use, dealers, and violence. Any Council member in favour of this will not be voted in next election.”
One individual who claims to be a police officer said, “I know this will bring more crime and lawlessness to the area… I was policing Surrey on the ground before Surrey introduced the safe injection site. When the site was set up, more undesirable people hung out in the area. You had drug dealers and addicts all over the street. At the safe injection site, they do not offer any help or suggest any help as they want to be neutral so that addicts will still use their facility.”
This petition was addressed to Richmond City Council, which endorsed a member motion by city councillors Kash Heed and Laura Gillanders in a 7-2 vote on Tuesday after the second consecutive day of hearing from public speakers. The motion was opposed by councillors Chak Au and Alexa Loo.
Before voting, City Council heard from over 100 public speakers during Monday and Tuesday’s meetings, which were particularly raucous, with pro-site activists confronting opponents, including one protester heard yelling, “Go back to Hong Kong,” at a visibly angry man.
Others shouted and even cursed insults at city councillors following the vote of approval.
The extremely heated nature of the public meetings even required the presence of Richmond RCMP for added security.
Richmond City Council’s February 13, 2024 public meeting on the supervised consumption site. (City of Richmond)
On Thursday, Richmond RCMP also told Daily Hive Urbanized they currently have one active investigation relating to alleged threats received by the Mayor’s Office. The alleged threats were reported to police on Wednesday.
Police state that according to the complainant, the threats, which included racist remarks, were received by voice mail on Tuesday night by an anonymous caller. As of today, police have not received any other reports of potential threats to city councillors.
The approved motion directs the municipal government to consider a supervised consumption site in Richmond, with the final decision over whether to open and operate such a facility being under the purview of Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH).
In a statement today to Daily Hive Urbanized, VCH says they are no longer considering moving forward with a stand-alone supervised consumption site for Richmond.
“Based on the latest Public Health data, a stand-alone supervised consumption site is not the most appropriate service for those at risk of overdose in Richmond. Stand-alone sites work best in communities where there is a significant concentration of people at-risk, since people will not travel far for these services,” reads VCH’s statement.
“Considering Public Health data and input from people with lived experience in Richmond, VCH will continue working with the City of Richmond to assess how we can strengthen overdoses prevention services and keep people in the local community safe so they can access treatment.”
But VCH’s position to not pursue a standalone supervised consumption site does not dismiss the possibility of co-locating a service at the Richmond Hospital campus, such as within the hospital building or situated inside a portable structure on the grounds of the hospital, based on City Council’s discussions. The hospital is located next to Minoru Park in Richmond City Centre.
According to the health authority, their data shows over 1,000 people in Richmond have an “opioid use disorder,” and about 600 people have a “stimulant use disorder.” They add that Richmond has a comparatively low rate of drug toxicity deaths, and the numbers are slowly declining.
“The toxic drug crisis looks different in different communities, and VCH works closely with municipal staff, service providers and other relevant health-care partners to identify overdose prevention services that are appropriate for the local contexts,” continues the statement by VCH.
In a letter to the Mayor and City Council on February 5, Dr. Meena Dewar, VCH’s medical health officer for Richmond, expressed her support for the motion calling for “overdose prevention services in Richmond.”
“The unregulated drug toxicity crisis is a complex issue with no one easy solution. I look forward to supporting the recommended analysis in order to identify a range of solutions that may be appropriate to our local context. Exploration of feasibility, acceptability and funding models is important and should be undertaken in partnership with clients, service providers and relevant public sector partners,” wrote Dewar.
Richmond City Council’s February 13, 2024 public meeting on the supervised consumption site. (Teresa Wat/Facebook)
Early this week, ahead of City Council’s deliberations, two MLAs under the BC United party, including one MLA representing a Richmond riding, expressed their opposition to the potential proposal.
“The decision to place this safe consumption site in the heart of Richmond without adequate consultation with the community is deeply troubling… The NDP’s decision to keep residents in the dark, rather than giving them a voice in this process, has served to divide our community instead of protecting vulnerable British Columbians. Our focus should be on fostering a safe environment and focusing on treatment and recovery,” said Teresa Wat, MLA for Richmond North Centre.
Surrey South MLA Elenore Sturko, who is also the shadow minister for mental health, addiction, and recovery for BC United, stated her party would end the current “decriminalization experiment, which has worsened the ongoing crisis while making communities feel less safe” and focus on a “true recovery-oriented system of care that includes free treatment for all those who need it, mental health services, and long-term recovery programs.”
With files from Claire Fenton.
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