Parents want Montreal safe injection site to change opening hours

Some parents want the opening hours of a safe injection site, located metres away from an elementary school, to be changed.

Spectre de Rue, a community group that works with people with drug addictions, is set to open the site in five days at its location on Ontario Street near Panet Street.

The safe injection site is to be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., down the street and around the corner from cole Marguerite Bourgeoys, an elementary school on Plessis Street, as well as a community centre.

ChristellePerrine, whosetwo children go tothe school, says the opening hours of the safe injection sitecoincidewith the times of day that children and teenagers are in the area.

She saidit's "nonsense" to have schoolchildren and drug users in such close proximity.

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Perrine is the head of the school's governing board.She isn't against safe injection sites, she explained, but she feels government officials didn't properly consultparents and the school before moving ahead with the project.

"We clearly understand why it's useful to have injection sites, but that's not the right place, or that's not the right hours," she said."We have to discussthat, and for the moment, they don't want to discuss."

A spokesperson for the Commission scolaire de Montral said the school boardwasn't consulted either.

Possiblelegal action

Perrine said she is concerned that drug users suffering through withdrawals will cross paths with young kids.

She suggested asolution:have the safe injection site at Cactusa community organization that is nearby but not as close to the schoolopen during the day, and the one at Spectre de rue open at night, when children aren't in such close proximity.

Perrine said other sites in Montreal made changes to their opening hours to accommodate their neighbours, but Spectre de Rue hasn't offered to do same.

The parents are considering taking legal action if they can't get the various levels of government to listen to them.

They've enlisted the help of noted constitutional rights lawyer Julius Grey to argue their case, if it comes to that.

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Grey said it's an issue of principle no one disagrees that safe injection sites are needed and useful, but the danger is in acting too quickly and not considering the needs of others in the area.

He said legally, the parentswere supposed to be consulted about the project, and they were not.

"This is not the right way to do it," Grey said. "You want to do it in such a way that it is generally acceptable and that nobody is hurt by your plan."