Future of Calgary's supervised consumption site still murky after latest provincial promise to close it

How the Alberta government will replace Calgary's only supervised consumption site, and what kind of timeline exists for the site's future heading into 2026, remain unclear after the province once again announced its closure last week.

Alberta is moving to close the site in the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre next year, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction said in a statement on Monday.

The ministry said it intends to work with municipal partners and agencies to transition to offering more treatment and recovery services instead, using past shutdowns of sites in Red Deer and Edmonton as an example.

The province said it plans to share more details for Calgary early next year.

The site was the first of its kind in Alberta. Operating out of a hospital in the inner-city Beltline neighbourhood, it’s a place for people to use pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of a registered nurse trained in overdose response

Since it opened, the centre has been lauded as providing a life-saving service, as well as targeted with criticism from people who blame it for public drug use and calls to police in its vicinity.

Mayor to raise site's future in meeting with premier

Despite the ministry’s statement, the city has not received any formal correspondence about the future of the cite, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said on Monday.

Farkas expects the city to have a seat at the table to discuss the site’s future, and how continuity of services are provided in its place. He added he’s looking forward to meeting with Premier Danielle Smith soon to raise the topic.

“My understanding is that this is just a repetition of what past statements have been made by previous officials with the provincial government,” said Farkas.

For many, many years, they’ve talked about its closure but without anything really substantive about what is in fact going to take its place.- Janet Eremenko, shadow minister for Mental Health and Addiction with Alberta NDP

The UCP government first announced they would close Calgary's supervised consumption site in 2021, roughly three years after it opened. Initially, the province discussed opening two replacement sites, but those plans never materialized.

Last fall, Calgary city council debated whether it should call on the province to close the site, but ultimately voted against it due to health services being provincial jurisdiction.

The local debate came as the provincial government shifted its addiction services model to favour more recovery-focused care. Earlier this year, Smith said her government is looking at shutting the site down, but didn't add further details.

Recovery Alberta, an organization the province created to take over delivery of mental health and addiction services, said on Monday it hasn't received official confirmation of a timeline to close Calgary's supervised consumption site. But the organization said it will work with the provincial government, if it receives a timeline, to ensure a smooth transition of services.

Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean represents the southwest corner of the city, far from the site, but he’s long supported its closure.

“It’s like a Christmas present. I welcome it,” McLean said about the province’s announcement.

"What we’ve done in the past isn’t working and we need to do something new.”

Ward 7 Coun. Myke Atkinson, who represents the city’s downtown just north of the Beltline, said the current site’s problem is it’s the only one in Calgary, and additional small sites around the city would lead to better results.

“We have an issue that we don’t actually have enough sites distributed,” said Atkinson. “And so what it’s actually done is it’s caused amassing around that site.”

Site saw increased visitors earlier this year

The province’s latest announcement comes after Calgary's supervised consumption site averaged 792 unique visitors per month in the second quarter of this year — the highest number since early 2020. Provincial data shows the site saw 12,478 total visits during that quarter.

The increased usage shows the site is still needed and could reflect a growing level of trust by its clients, said Rebecca Haines-Saah.

The Cumming School of Medicine associate professor said while investing in treatment is almost always a net positive, treatment alone won’t replace the site's current work to prevent and respond to overdoses.

“Supervised consumption sites and overdose prevention sites were put in place to respond to a public health emergency in deaths. And treatment is not responding to that immediate risk of death,” said Haines-Saah.

LISTEN | Addictions specialist reacts to province's announcement:

She said replacing the supervised consumption site with other services could mean the needs of current clients, who aren't ready for recovery or treatment, aren't met. She'd like to see the province consult clients more, and if the government intends to close the site, she said it should fund grassroots organizations to do the work instead.

“They need to give them money to buy naloxone, to staff peer outreach, to have other supplies, needle distribution, to go out and meet people where they are,” said Haines-Saah.

Frustration from lack of provincial plan

Geoff Allan is a Calgary resident who used to live in the Beltline near the supervised consumption site. He rents out his old property now, after moving more than five years ago when his children were born, due to safety concerns.

Allan would like to see a plan from the province about what it will do to mitigate some of the consequences that could come from closing the site.

But he's doubtful the province will follow through on its latest promise.

“I’m not confident that it will be closed, based on previous announcements, but we’ll see what happens,” said Allan.

The lack of a plan has also concerned Janet Eremenko, the shadow minister for Mental Health and Addiction with the Alberta NDP, who said the province has discussed closing the site without any substantive details about a timeline or replacement services for years.

“When these services close, it doesn’t just mean that the drug use dries up; it doesn’t disappear. It, in fact, goes out into public places. It goes to city hall, downtown libraries, stairwells and stoops of offices downtown," said Eremenko, the Calgary-Currie MLA.

“For many, many years, they’ve talked about its closure but without anything really substantive about what is in fact going to take its place.”