Addictions-treatment centre clears first hurdle at city hall

Dozens of peoplein favour and against the creation of an addictions-treatment centre in a west Winnipeg residential neighbourhood made their case on Tuesday evening before a trio of city councillors.

At the conclusion of aneight-hourmeeting, city council's Assiniboia community committee voted to approveland-use changes that would permit the 50-bed Bruce OakeMemorial Centre to rise on the site of the decommissioned Vimy Arena on Hamilton Avenue, in the Crestview neighbourhood in St. Charles.

Couns. Janice Lukes (Waverley West), Scott Gillingham(St. James) and Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo, attending the first meeting since his election last month) agreed to subdivide three acres of city-owned parkland on the west side of Sturgeon Creek and rezone the larger chunk for residential use, specificallya rehab facility operated by the non-profit Bruce OakeMemorial Foundation.

• 4 things to know about the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre hearing

The hearing, which began shortly before 7 p.m., saw more than a dozen people register in favour of the development and no fewer than 38 sign up to oppose. Only some of them chose to speak at the hearing, which concluded shortly before 1 a.m.

Broadcaster Scott Oake, who lost his son Bruce to an overdose in 2011, said he wantedto convince councillors not just of the need for an addictions-treatment centre, but of the prospect it may operate without conflict in Crestview.

"Recovery centres, the likes of which we are proposing can function beautifully in the midst of urban and residential neighbourhoods, and there are countless examples of that across the country," Oakesaid before the hearing.

Jennifer Bautista, whose son Gabriel Pereira died by suicide in Julyafter struggling with mental-health issues and addiction, told the committee the need for more treatment options is immense.

"I wasn't supposed to mourn my 20-year-old son," she said.

Opponents of the centre argued the treatment centre will increase traffic in Crestview, increase crime, eat upgreen spaceand drive down property values. They also expressed concern about clients relapsing.

Darla Rettie, legal counsel for the non-profit Friends of Sturgeon Creek, also argued the proposed development doesn't jibe with Winnipeg's planning guidelines.

Empathy should not lead to poor decision-making.-AssiniboiaMLA Steven Fletcher

"Reasonable people can differ on whether this particular parcel of property is the right fitfor an additions treatment and recovery centre," Rettie told the committee, accusing council of rubber-stamping the project's approval.

She also asked Couns. Lukes and Gillingham to recuse themselves from the hearing because they voted on the VimyArena sale in January. The councillorsdeclined that request.

AssiniboiaMLA Steven Fletcher, who opposes the addictions treatment centre, told the committee not to be swayed by family members who've lost loved ones.

"Empathy should not lead to poor decision-making," he said, calling Winnipeg's plan to sell off the Vimy Arena site "a shady deal."

Council voted in January to sell the decommissioned arena site, which was valued at $1.4 million,to the province for $1.

The province intends to transfer the site to the non-profit Bruce Oake foundation.

• Councillors OK sale of Vimy Arena for $1 to create Bruce Oake Recovery Centre

The land-use changes for the site now faceapproval from council's property committee, executive policy committee and ultimately council as a whole.

Scott Oakesaid he would like to see construction begin this summer, pending council approval.