A group of Winnipeggers rallied at the Manitoba Legislature on Wednesday to call on the province to do more to deal with the methamphetamine crisis.

 

The rally comes in the wake of the Canadian Mental Health Association releasing a report with a number of recommendations on how the Federal Government can work with provinces and cities to combat the opioid crisis and addictions.

One of the main recommendations in the report, which has been a talking point in Manitoba of late, is the need for safe consumption sites. Safe consumption sites are places where people can use drugs in a monitored environment with trained staff. 

The province has said in the past it will not commit to those sites, as it has not seen evidence that they will be effective in helping people battle addictions in Manitoba. Recently, Main Street Project proposed putting one into the old Mitchell Fabrics building on Main St., along with a 10-bed detox centre. 

The province, however, remained skeptical. 

Marion Willis, the founder of St. Boniface Street Links and organizer of today's rally, says the proposal from Main Street Project is solid, and she's discouraged the province is ignoring it. 

"At best maybe they just don't understand this and they're too far removed from what the actual reality is out there," Willis said. "I hate to say it, but at worst perhaps it almost seems as though they don't care. It almost makes them complicit in this crisis." 

The province said recently it is still working on its Mental Health and Addictions Strategy and will act on recommendations in a report set to be released in the near future.

Willis says she and other community members dealing with drug addictions issues want to know who is making these recommendations and they want to have a say in the strategy. 

"They haven't contacted any of us in the trenches actually dealing with this," Willis said. "We haven't been included in any of their plans or discussions." 

Willis says their attempts to meet with provincial Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen have been met with silence, and she believes it's time for him to go. 

"I do think he should step down," she said. "This is a Health Minister who doesn't understand what this is all about. I think he should make way for a someone who has a background in health and social services and will do something to help." 

Golden West News has reached out to Minister Goertzen for comment but has yet to hear back. 

Other speakers at Wednesday's event included Aboriginal Youth Opportunities' Michael Redhead Champagne, opposition NDP leader Wab Kinew and Manitoba Liberal leader Dougald Lamont. 

The full CMHA report can be viewed here.