
Motion expected in Nanaimo, B.C. on asking for closure of safe injection site
Council in Nanaimo, B.C., is scheduled to hear a motion that could result in the city asking a provincial health authority to close a local overdose prevention site.
Coun. Ian Thorpe is expected to bring forward the motion at Nanaimo’s council meeting today that will ask to “formally request” Island Health to close the site on Albert Street, next to city hall.
Mayor Leonard Krog says he expects the motion to be debated and deferred to enable experts and those with an interest on the issue to come before council at a later time before a decision is made.
The site has generated enough concerns about disorder and violence nearby that city staff previously proposed building a 1.8-metre-high fence that was intended to protect those at city hall.