ManitobaA controversial Winnipeg detox centre that can be used to detain highly intoxicated people for up to three days officially opens Tuesday afternoon.20-room facility on Disraeli Freeway to begin accepting people around 3 p.m.CBC News · Posted: Dec 02, 2025 12:29 PM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Manitoba Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith tours the detox centre last month. (David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press)A controversial Winnipeg detox centre that can be used to detain highly intoxicated people for up to three days officially opens Tuesday afternoon.The 20-room facility at 190 Disraeli Fwy. will begin accepting people around 3 p.m., a provincial spokesperson said.The facility is operational right now, staff are there, but it will begin accepting people then, the spokesperson said.Also called a protective care centre or sobering centre, it’s set up to detain people on methamphetamine and other long-lasting drugs who are exhibiting mental health symptoms like psychosis or posing a substantial risk to themselves.Its staff are health-care professionals and paramedics and it’s run by Main Street Project, a non-profit that has for decades run a nearby 24-hour centre commonly called the “drunk tank.”That 24-hour hold facility has been closed, but the new detox centre can also host people intoxicated by alcohol, “so the services continue,” the provincial spokesperson said. The facility’s opening follows the passing of Bill 48 — the Protective Detention and Care of Intoxicated Persons Act — inside the Manitoba Legislature on Nov. 5. The bill extended how long someone can be detained, raising the limit from 24 hours to 72.Critics have said that holding people against their will for up to three days criminalizes addiction. They have compared the facility to jail, saying it could leave vulnerable people traumatized.The detox centre has three-by-three-metre cell-like rooms with a toilet, sink, video surveillance and an intercom.There are 20 rooms down a long hallway, with plans for another 20 to be added later. Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith has said additional centres could be opened in the future in other cities, such as Brandon and Thompson.WATCH | See inside Winnipeg’s 72-hour detox facility:First look at Winnipeg’s new detox centreThe Manitoba government gave media a tour Monday of its new 20-bed detox centre for highly intoxicated people, located at 190 Disraeli Fwy., before it opens the facility’s doors later this month.
Winnipeg’s 72-hour detox centre officially opens Tuesday afternoon
