Scrutiny for supervised drug consumption site in Victoria's ‘Downtown Eastside'

Winnipeg Free Press

12-07-2025

VICTORIA – The value of a supervised consumption site in the heart of Victoria's most downtrodden neighbourhood is under debate — is it a life-saving tool, or a magnet for drug dealers victimizing those in an encampment on the site's doorstep?
Victoria Coun. Marg Gardiner said the facility is a draw for both 'those addicted to drugs and for drug dealers, who prey on the weak and ill among those encamped' in the three blocks along Pandora Avenue.
'It's Victoria's Downtown Eastside,' she said in an interview, likening Pandora to the Vancouver neighbourhood plagued by crime, poverty and addiction.
Gardiner tabled a motion that went before council this week asking Victoria to formally request Island Health to close the facility, along with a second nearby facility, by Aug. 31.
The council put off any request and the issue was deferred until Nov. 6. Mayor Marianne Alto said time was needed to gather evidence for a 'well-informed discussion' about a 'very complex' issue like supervised-consumption sites.
Gardiner's motion was prompted by a presentation to council last month from Dr. Reka Gustafson, Island Health's chief medical health officer.
Gustafson said the 'vast majority of people who use substances' are not using the Pandora facility, adding that about 80 people are using inhalation services at the site each day.
'The estimated number of people who use opiates in British Columbia is 225,000,' she said. 'So, I think it's really important that the overwhelming majority of people, who use substances and who are dying from toxic substances aren't the people, who are visible to us, aren't necessarily the individuals, that we often talk about.'
For Gardiner, Gustafson's comments mean that users of the facility 'tend to be regular clientele' while 'most of those encamped on the 900 block of Pandora do not seek' out the facility.
Island Health did not directly respond to a request for an interview about Gustafson's comments but provided a statement describing the value of the consumption site.
Many consider the 800 to 1,000 blocks of Pandora Avenue the epicentre of Victoria's homelessness challenge with multiple tents and other sleeping structures set up along its sidewalks.
Bicycles and shopping carts loaded with belongings are parked nearby. Portable fencing has been set up to separate the encampment from a nearby church and other businesses.
Alto said delaying Gardiner's motion would give the city time to implement its recently approved Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan, which includes several items to address that section of Pandora Ave.
The mayor earlier this month announced the plan that would pour $10.35 million into more police and bylaw officers, temporary housing and cleanup as it tries to reduce crime, homelessness and addiction.
The supervised consumption site, known as The Harbour, first opened its doors in June 2018 as Victoria's first such facility under a federal exemption to the Controlled Drug and Substances Act that is set to expire in 2027.
The facility supervises people who consume drugs through their nose, mouth, injections and inhalation, so that they can receive immediate treatment in case they overdose. It also provides safer drug use supplies, drug testing, harm-reduction supplies and harm-reduction education among other services.
Island Health, which operates the facility in partnership with Lookout Housing and Health Society and Solid Outreach Society, said in its statement that the facility is part of 'evidence-based health services that reduce adverse outcomes and death for people who use substances.'
Island Health said the facility received about 3,000 visits from 445 different people in June. It said three drug poisonings happened inside the facility with no deaths or adverse events last month.
Preliminary information from the BC Centre for Disease Control shows that Island Health's seven overdose prevention and supervised consumption sites have averted an estimated 2,140 deaths between January 2019 and October 2024.
As of June 10, 2025, Greater Victoria has recorded 36 overdose deaths, down from 161 in 2024 and 175 in 2023.
Gardiner said in an interview that she knew the likelihood of council supporting her closure motion was 'quite low,' but defended it by saying that the 'general public has to know what is going on' on Pandora.
She said she believes the consumption sites are not working, and she suggests they should be closed entirely, rather than moved elsewhere.
The supervised consumption sites have failed, Gardiner said, especially against the backdrop of the deadly opioid fentanyl, which she said was a 'game-changer' in Victoria's drug subculture.
'The normalization of illicit drugs is harmful to individuals, who fall victim to drug addiction,' she said. 'It's harmful to their families, and it's harmful to society at large. If this council is committed to a safer city, it must do more than increase enforcement, while supporting illicit drug use behind closed door, because that is what we are doing.'
Alto said during debate that deferral of the motion gives time to discuss the future of the facility, not just with Island Health, but also with the province and other actors in the health field, including public health officials.
She said they'll be able to gather some evidence to have a 'well-informed discussion' and allow them to perhaps adjust the motion.
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'I will say that I have already been in conversation with a number of those people, including (B.C. Health Minister) Josie Osborne,' Alto said Thursday, adding that Osborne had signalled a willingness to continue the conversation on improving the situation along Pandora Avenue.
Gardiner opposed deferral, saying that she does not 'want to wait another two years' before Victoria makes a decision.
Island Health didn't comment on the deferral.
'Island Health is aware of the recent motion before Victoria city council,' it said in its statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2025.