2 supervised injection sites approved for Surrey

Health Canada has approved two supervised injection sites in Surrey.

SafePoint will be located along the notorious Whalley strip on 135A Street, a location selected after "consultation with the people who are most likely to access services there," according to the announcement.

The second will be located at the Quibble Creek Sobering and Assessment Centre near King George Boulevard and 94 Avenue.

First for Surrey

Both sites are a first for the city and are slated to open in June.

In 2016, 108 people died of illicit drug overdoses in Surrey, up 42 per cent from 2015. Vancouver was the only city with a higher number of overdose fatalities in the province.

Besides providing supervised injection services, Fraser Health is also hoping to gain approval to allow injection of intra-nasal and oral substances on site — in other words illegal drugs that can be snorted or taken by mouth — which would be a first in Canada.

According to Fraser Health spokeswoman Jacqueline Blackwell, the request to include intra-nasal and oral drugs was part of the initial application to Health Canada.

"Health Canada has approved supervised injection and has indicated they want more time to review our application for supervised intra-nasal and oral injection," she said. "We hope to receive that approval soon."

The sites will also connect users with addiction treatment, including access to suboxone and methadone.

Health Canada has also approved another supervised injection site on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside at 528 Powell St.

An unsanctioned overdose prevention site has been operating at the location, known as the Powell Street Getaway, since December of last year.

Last month, Vancouver's chief medical health officer criticized the federal government for moving too slowly in approving supervised drug consumption sites, in light of the fentanyl crisis and overdose epidemic in British Columbia.

llicit drug overdoses claimed the lives of 922 people provincewide in 2016.