The beleaguered Sheldon Chumir supervised consumption site (SCS) will close in 2026, according to the province, though thus far, Calgary’s mayor said they haven’t received official word on when.
A spokesperson for the Alberta government’s mental health and addiction ministry told LWC on Dec. 15 that plans are underway for the closure. The province’s response comes after media reports had Alberta Premier Danielle Smith once again saying that the province wants the location closed.
“We are moving to close the Calgary drug consumption site located in the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre in 2026, and in partnership with municipal partners and agencies, transition to provide more treatment and recovery services, as we have done previously in other sites such as in Red Deer and the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton,” read an emailed response from the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction.
“As we have done previously in other sites such as in Red Deer and the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, we will prioritize services to assist people seeking treatment.”
The Ministry said further details will be shared in the new year.
The City of Calgary and the province have been stalled on a potential plan to shut the site down since problems with the location were first brought forward back in 2019.
Over the past six years, the province and the city have played political hot potato with the site. The province has said they want the city to make a decision and take action to close the site. The previous council ignored those requests, reminding the province that mental health, addictions and healthcare in general are provincial jurisdiction, and they can’t close down the site.
Most recently, former Mayor Jyoti Gondek and former Mental Health and Addictions Minister Dan Williams traded barbs on the topic.
Repetition of past statements: Mayor Farkas
Current Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said that they haven’t gotten any sort of official word from the province on Sheldon Chumir’s SCS closure. He said a lot of the details on a path forward are emerging.
“We’re fully expected to have a seat at the table to be able to work through what that transitionary period might look like, timelines, and how we can step up to ensure that there’s continuity of services provided,” Farkas told reporters on Monday.
Despite Premier Smith having made recent comments on the Chumir site, there’s nothing materially new, Farkas said.
“My understanding is that this is just a repetition of what past statements have been made by previous officials with the provincial government,” he said.
Ward 7 Coun. Myke Atkinson said the issue isn’t necessarily the Sheldon Chumir site itself, but that there aren’t more sites dispersed around the city to limit the potential collateral impact to neighbouring communities.
“It’s similar to the issues we have around, say, the Drop-In Center, or any of these places where you have social serving agencies doing this kind of work in such a massive single spot. By spreading it out, you have the ability to actually deal with it in diffuse little bits, and that doesn’t create the problems that I think a lot of the residents around there are feeling because it’s spilling out into their surrounding neighborhood.
“But if we were dealing with it across the city, in a more systematic approach, we’d actually get a better result.”
Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean said that it’s good news that the province wants to move ahead with the Chumir SCS closure.
“It’s like a Christmas present. I welcome it. I think all the residents, the businesses that operate in and around the Chumir are happy to see it being replaced and removed from that location,” he said.
McLean said he expects four provincial sites will be set up in Calgary, providing “compassionate care” to hundreds of Calgarians dealing with addiction.
