Vancouver mayor opposes new downtown location for controversial overdose prevention site
Mayor Ken Sim is hoping to block a proposed overdose prevention site (OPS) in downtown Vancouver.
His announcement came hours after Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) announced the new location for the Thomus Donaghy OPS (TD OPS) at 900 Helmcken Street, between Burrard and Hornby Streets.
Sim will bring forward a motion at Tuesday’s Council meeting, which would direct City staff to “‘use all tools available to the City’ including permitting, licensing, servicing, and legal settlements as bases to prevent the opening of the new OPS.”
The OPS provides supervised consumption, drug checking, and other harm reduction services. Since the Province declared the toxic-drug crisis a public health emergency in 2016, illicit drugs have been the “leading cause” of death in B.C. for people aged 10 to 59, according to a release from VCH.
B.C issued a ministerial order in 2016, which directed all regional health boards and B.C. Emergency Health Services to have overdose prevention services “in any place required.”
This would be the third location of the site. It first opened in 2021 at 1101 Seymour Street, and closed in 2024 after the municipal government did not renew the lease due to controversy, including complaints of public disorder, strewn garbage and needles, crime and public safety issues, and sidewalk encampments.
The OPS then moved to Howe Street, which permanently closed on Jan. 31, 2026, with the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) saying it was at the discretion of the property owner. Since then, they said that only limited and temporary services for its clients have been available.
While VCH said that overdose prevention sites are “evidence-based harm reduction services that can reduce the risk of death, help connect people to treatment, while also providing an alternative to public drug use,” Sim disagreed.
“Vancouver will not support solutions that fail both those who are struggling and the communities around them,” said Sim in a release. “We have seen the disastrous impact when OPS sites are introduced without the right planning, oversight, and accountability.”
Sim also said that the status quo doesn’t work, “and frankly, it’s never worked.”
He called on B.C. to implement mandatory care, saying that Vancouver has seen zero beds since Premier David Eby promised to create 400 involuntary care beds.
In 2025, the B.C. Ministry of Health established minimum service standards for all OPS facilities in the province, to ensure these facilities are good neighbours.
The TD OPS is operated by the non-profit RainCity, which secured the new lease with support from the VCH. They found the location “after a lengthy search and feasibility assessment of all potential sites in the area,” according to VCH’s statement.
VCH said they and RainCity “are committed to implementing a robust site management plan for the new OPS location,” which includes screening, landscaping, litter management, access to outreach teams, and an embedded recovery navigator.
They added that it has a number of benefits, including its closeness to VCH’s Three Bridges Community Health Centre, where people can get access to primary health care, mental health and treatment, and public health services. It also has outdoor space for observed inhalation, indoor space for observed injection and respite.
“As street-based consumption is a recognized concern in this neighbourhood, the ability to offer a safe and private space for individuals to access services is an important feature of this site.”
With files from Kenneth Chan