WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government promised more consultation Tuesday with inner-city residents and business owners upset about a planned supervised drug consumption site.
Premier Wab Kinew also said the government is open to delaying the site’s opening beyond January — the timeline initially proposed.
“Just over the weekend, we heard from community (members) who are saying ‘We need more time,’” Kinew told reporters.
“Given the fact we’re extending the consultations, I think we’re realistically also willing to delay opening maybe by a few weeks, hopefully. That would be enough time to address the desire for people to weigh in and also for us to respond to what we hear.”
The NDP government initially planned the province’s first-ever supervised consumption site for 200 Disraeli Freeway — an area east of Main St. close to homeless shelters. But area residents protested, partly because the site is close to a high school and child-care centre, and the government backed down.
Last week, the government announced its new location of 366 Henry Ave. — a largely commercial area several blocks west of Main Street and hundreds of metres away from any schools. The decision caught nearby business owners off-guard.
The government announced two consultation meetings on short notice for this week. Kinew said Tuesday there will be at least one additional meeting, tentatively set for next week and focusing on business concerns, and more if needed.
A brochure distributed in the area in recent days said safety is a key concern.
“Once high, where do these people end up? Do they leave the building and walk around the area? Will they have health-care professionals escort them back home?” the brochure reads.
Kinew said he wants to address public concerns, but said supervised consumption sites save lives, help connect people with treatment and were an NDP campaign promise.
“We have to look at the bigger picture of the health needs of what’s happening in our community,” Kinew said.
Kinew made the comments following his annual state-of-the-province speech to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, where he touted his previously announced plans for a Crown-Indigenous corporation.
He told the business crowd the corporation will not be a strictly Crown entity such as Manitoba Hydro, the province’s energy utility. It will be a 50-50 partnership with Indigenous communities that will ensure Indigenous participation in decision-making around big economic projects, such as upgrades to the Port of Churchill and a planned energy corridor across northern Manitoba.
“A government-to-government relationship … Crown government, Indigenous governments going into a joint venture together to commercialize a new opportunity,” Kinew told the business crowd.
The board of the corporation will split decision-making evenly between the Crown and Indigenous communities, he added. Other possibilities include a northern mine or a manufacturing plant.
“Part of what we’re trying to do here is to just change the conversation away from being one of, like, barriers and risks and lawsuits more towards, ‘How do we make money for everybody?’” Kinew said.
The Manitoba Métis Federation and the chamber of commerce welcomed the idea, which will require legislation next year.
“I think what today the premier has outlined puts us on a better path to actually achieve significant economic growth … but doing so in a way where all Manitobans ultimately realize the benefits,” chamber president Loren Remillard said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2025.
