'A pause is simply not enough': Vancouver business leaders slam B.C.'s handling of controversial overdose prevention site

While the overdose prevention site (OPS) in downtown Vancouver might be paused, business leaders are calling on the province to take more decisive action.

At a packed press conference on Thursday, Vancouverites gathered to hear from numerous business organizations that are concerned with the proposed OPS at 900 Helmcken St., which is right across from one of Vancouver’s busiest hotels, the Sheraton Wall Centre.

An OPS provides supervised consumption, drug checking, and other harm reduction services. While speakers acknowledged Vancouver’s toxic drug crisis, they said the Province didn’t adequately consult them on the site’s location.

VCH announced the location on May 5, stating that the lease would start on June 1 and that they anticipated services to begin shortly after. The announcement immediately drew backlash, including from Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim.

However, on May 27 — one day before the press conference — B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne sent out a statement announcing that Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) was putting the brakes on the OPS, with no planned opening date.

“Although we are very pleased with the government’s statement [Wednesday] that they are pausing the opening of 900 Helmcken, a pause is simply not enough,” said Laura Ballance, representing the Hospitality Vancouver Association.

She said they believe that the toxic drug and mental health crisis “must be a healthcare one,” with OPS sites located in hospitals.

“Not on the streets for the residents, families, business owners, staff, and tourists to be forced to deal with. I can tell you that the business owners who make up HVA are at the breaking point. They have endured years of street disorder, rising costs, and policy decisions that have jeopardized their businesses, the 10,000 full and part-time employees, jobs, and one of the most vibrant parts of our city,” she said.

“What we are facing is not typical urban area issues. They are extreme, they are unsafe, and they are threatening our communities and our city.”

However, harm reduction and recovery advocate Guy Felicella said that the drug users are already in the neighbourhood, with or without the OPS.

“I was by the [Sheraton] Wall Center today, and guess what? Right across the street from the Wall Center, there are people using substances. It’s like, hey, if that site were available, they would be in that — we would make them go in there.”

He pointed out that people who are opposed to the OPS are complaining about the street disorder and chaos that already exists.

“The site’s not there,” he said. “So, what is it? Is it the chaos and the disorder, and the loitering that you want to address, or is it the supervised consumption site? Because we don’t have a supervised consumption site there.”

Not enough consultation

But business leaders lamented that the province had not consulted with the neighbourhood enough before deciding on the OPS site.

“We shouldn’t have to stand here and plead with the provincial government to collaborate,” said Ian Tostenson, the president and CEO of the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association.

Jane Talbot, the CEO of Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, said she acknowledges the “devastating addiction and overdose crisis.”

“At the same time, our organization, alongside many other organizations downtown and throughout the city, we’ve been raising concerns for years about the worsening street disorder, untreated mental health challenges, addiction, public safety, and the growing strain on downtown businesses.”

She said the community was not meaningfully consulted, the impacts on the surrounding neighbourhood were not properly considered, and the support needed to make the OPS work was not in place.

Daily Hive asked Talbot what supports are needed for an OPS to work, and she emphasized the importance of consultation with the surrounding community.

“I think Vancouver Coastal Health and Raincity have done a good job of improving operations within their walls, but in order for this to be successful in the community, they need to work with us to support the surrounding community once people leave.

‘Work for everybody.’

Meanwhile, Felicella said that he hopes that the OPS can “work for everybody.”

“I don’t want people using drugs in front of people’s businesses, people’s houses, people’s apartments. I don’t want them to use it alone. I don’t want them to possibly die or receive a brain injury. I want them to go to those facilities,” he said.

He added that he wants to get people into recovery and treatment, and it is much easier to work with those who come into a facility, instead of on the street.

In the statement that Minister Osborne sent out on Wednesday, she said that B.C. is “committed to working collaboratively with the City of Vancouver, local businesses and community partners to ensure people can access life-saving services, while addressing concerns raised by the community and supporting safe, healthy neighbourhoods for everyone.”