Manitoba law on detaining drug users may not stand up in court, says MP

The Manitoba government’s bill that allows authorities to detain people high on drugs and causing a disturbance for three days needs some improvement and may not be effective, say some critics. According to Premier Wab Kinew, the goal of the Protective Detention and Care of Intoxicated Persons Act is to address the methamphetamine crisis in the province. “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 community is,” Kinew said at a news conference on Thursday. “Instead, the rest of the community is going to step up, get them the treatment they need. But most importantly, say we’re taking back our streets, we’re taking back our communities, we’re taking back our bus stops, and we’re going to make Manitoba safe again.” Premier Wab Kinew at a news conference in Winnipeg on Thursday. Photo: Jared Delorme/APTN. The bill comes with money for a new detoxification facility in Winnipeg’s downtown core where people will be held, assessed by a health professional and offered addiction supports. The opposition Conservatives criticized the government for putting the facility across the street from a school. Kinew didn’t address the location. “The conditions of the existing facility where the police take somebody when they’re acting up like this is pretty rough,” Kinew said. “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 that they aren’t in the emergency room waiting room. “They’re not at the bus stop. They’re not bugging you when you’re trying to go to the grocery store.” Kinew said the 72 hour confinement is necessary for individuals under the influence of methamphetamine because the substance takes longer to leave their system. NDP MP Leah Gazan, whose riding includes much of downtown Winnipeg, where the facility is located and most of the city’s unhoused population resides, has concerns that the new law isn’t compliant with the Charter of Rights. She said some officers may detain people who are not on meth. “So how do you determine, if you’re not a trained psychiatrist or somebody with psychiatric training, whether the person’s behaviour is attributed to meth, a psychotic episode, or a bi-polar disorder,” she told APTN News. Gazan said some community organizations have raised issues with the bill. “I think this is a very complex issue but the reality is, we know carceral approaches and forced treatment through ample research are ineffective,” she said. “Forced treatment doesn’t work. We need to deal with the root causes of this issue.” Continue Reading