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8h ago

Sharp Pledges to Seek Closure of Calgary’s Downtown Supervised Consumption Site

Provincial approval depends on a formal city request.

The supervised consumption site is located at the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre in Calgary's Beltline neighbourhood.
Homeless camps seen outside the Drop-in Centre prior to being dismantled by police on February 10, 2022.
Discarded needles and drug paraphernalia found in the alleys and parking lots around the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre supervised consumption site on Sept. 24, 2020.
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Overview

  • Mayoral candidate Sonya Sharp said she would ask Alberta to close the SafeWorks supervised consumption site at the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre and move to deconcentrate services tied to the city’s largest homeless shelter.
  • Premier Danielle Smith reiterated that the province will shut a supervised consumption site if Calgary formally requests it.
  • Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the decision rests with the province and warned that closing the site without replacement services would push people onto the streets.
  • The Calgary Drop-In Centre said its 2024–2030 strategy includes a decentralized hub-and-spoke model and it is prepared to work with all levels of government.
  • Response to Sharp’s plan split, with rival candidate Brian Thiessen calling it reckless and an outreach leader reporting volunteers avoid the concentrated area while seeing potential in a distributed model.