:format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/canada/2023/04/03/manitoba-opposition-to-delay-bill-that-would-license-some-addiction-centres/20230403100416-642adfc6d1aa83315ceee862jpeg.jpg "Manitoba Opposition to delay bill that would license some addiction centres")
WINNIPEG – Manitoba’s Opposition New Democrats say they plan to delay passage of a bill that would set up a licensing system for supervised drug consumption sites and some other addiction centres.
The Opposition has the right every spring to delay up to five bills in the legislature until the fall, and the NDP has chosen Bill 33 as its first this year.
The delay means the bill may not become law at all, as an election is scheduled for Oct. 3.
The Progressive Conservative government introduced the bill last month.
It would set standards of care, require minimum levels of medical supervision and provide for fines of up to $50,000 per day for violators.
The New Democrats say the bill seems designed as a roadblock for organizations such as Sunshine House, which has received a federal exemption to operate a mobile overdose prevention van in central Winnipeg.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2023.
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