Montreal supervised drug-use sites getting boost from Quebec. Is it enough?

Quebec is dedicating an additional $1.5 million for services targeted to drug users, including $1.2 million that will go to four organizations in three Montreal neighbourhoods.

Quebec is boosting funding for supervised consumption sites in Montreal to prevent overdoses as the city grapples with homelessness and substance abuse issues.

The province is dedicating an additional $1.5 million for services targeted to drug users, including $1.2 million that will go to four organizations in Montreal’s downtown, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Village neighbourhoods.

The Village became the focus of Montreal’s homelessness and drug abuse issues earlier this summer when the city launched an action plan to address resident and business owners’ concerns about safety.

Another $252,000 will go to Montreal public health to expand supervised consumption sites, which are places where people can bring their own drugs to use in the presence of trained staff.

Annie Aubertin, director of a Montreal supervised drug-use site, says the additional funding will allow the non-profit to extend its operating hours after it had previously reduced them.

She says the decriminalization of drug use would further help to reduce stigma, but Lionel Carmant, junior health minister, says the government is not pursuing such a policy change.