Point Douglas drug detox centre will open before month’s end, premier says

A detox centre capable of holding people intoxicated on meth and other drugs for up to three days is expected to open in Winnipeg’s Point Douglas neighbourhood before the end of the month.

The provincial government passed legislation Wednesday with near-unanimous support allowing for the enhanced, temporary detention of people experiencing drug-induced psychosis.

Getting the law approved was among the final steps before the 72-hour detox facility can open at 190 Disraeli Fwy., Premier Wab Kinew said Thursday.

“You’re going to see this facility open in the next two weeks in terms of accepting people,” he told reporters at an unrelated news conference.

“The regulations are ready to go, so we’re ready to move forward. People want our communities to be safe. We know drugs are causing a big impact everywhere.”

Kinew has repeatedly described the facility, which the province is calling a protective care centre, as a “drunk tank for people that are high on drugs.”

Winnipeg’s current drug detox site — located on Martha Street, a few blocks away from the new facility, and run by Main Street Project — will continue operating until December, at which point it will undergo renovations, Kinew said.

Under existing legislation, people could not be detained for more than 24 hours while under the influence. The detention limit was created at a time when alcohol was the intoxicant of primary concern, the province has said.

Law enforcement officials and first responders have endorsed the plan to enhance the length of the detention period allowed under law, saying people using methamphetamine and other drugs often need more than 24 hours to be free of the effects. In the absence of an appropriate place to hold people during prolonged highs, many people are held in hospital emergency rooms or in police custody.

Police and medical staff will help operate the new centre in the early days to help “straighten out what the protocol is,” Kinew said, adding paramedics and other staff will also be on site to provide medical attention and connect people with social resources.

Main Street Project will be the province’s primary partner in operating the facility, but additional staff are being added as well, he said.

“By December, I would expect this facility to be fully up and running, diverting people away from the ER, diverting people away from causing problems on the street. This is really important public safety step,” he said.

The centre will launch with 20 detox units, with its capacity to be doubled sometime in early 2026, the premier said.

Asked whether it would have the required staff in place to operate the facility before the month’s end, Main Street Project said it could not immediately comment but might be able to provide a statement Friday.

Other homelessness-focused organizations, including Sunshine House and Resource Assistance for Youth, declined to comment.

End Homelessness Winnipeg did not respond to a request sent Thursday afternoon.

A provincial spokesperson said the government spent $3.7 million to purchase the building and an additional $5 million on renovations.

Permits for the proposed centre are ready, but some “logistical work” is ongoing before the centre can begin to accept people for detox, Kinew said.

“The conditions of the existing facility where the police take somebody when they’re acting up like this are pretty rough. The new facility is going to be more humane, more dignified, but most importantly, it’s going to be somewhere where somebody who is causing problems on drugs can be taken so they are not in the emergency room wait room, they’re not at the bus stop,” he said.

“This is a long overdue step, so we’re taking it really seriously because safety is one of the most important responsibilities that we have.”

Dr. Jim Simm, the former chief provincial psychiatrist of Manitoba, said he is concerned the plan to open the facility is moving ahead too quickly, without appropriate consideration.

Simm said involuntary detention is not an effective way to help people addicted to drugs.

“The studies show little or no benefit, and some studies show there is an increased risk of death just after discharge,” Simm said, pointing to people addicted to opioids, as an example.

“They lose their tolerance for opioids and then they go back and use, and they die or have serious overdoses.”

He noted it is “almost impossible” to differentiate between a person experiencing a period of drug-induced psychosis and somebody suffering from schizophrenia or another mental illness. Detaining somebody who is profoundly mentally ill could bear dangerous and unintended consequences, he said.

The doctor suggested funds dedicated to the detox centre could be better spent opening more long-term recovery spaces.

Kinew said some experts in addiction treatment in Manitoba have supported the government’s approach. He referenced a letter submitted by four high-ranking Manitoba medical professionals in October, in which they said the centre could prove safe and effective if the appropriate medical oversight is in place.

The province did not confirm Thursday whether a physician, or multiple physicians, would be hired to work at the centre.

“I don’t know where they are going to find people to properly staff this new protective care centre,” Simm said, noting challenges finding staff at other mental-health care facilities.

The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, the union behind Shared Health’s crisis response centre, warned last month that facility was “dangerously” understaffed.

Other critics of the plan have raised concern it could result in possible breaches of the Charter right not to be arbitrarily detained.

“I think a lot of concerns that are coming from the community — you’re going to see that we are treating people with respect,” Kinew countered Thursday.

“The person who is too caught up in their addiction to be able to take care of themselves is no longer going to decide how safe the rest of the community is. Instead, the rest of the community is going to step up, get them the treatment that they need but, most importantly, say, ‘We’re taking back our streets.’”

The introduction of a 72-hour detox centre in Winnipeg is contingent on Bill 48, the Protective Detention and Care of Intoxicated Persons Act, achieving royal assent from the lieutenant-governor.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca