Nanaimo, B.C., councillor’s motion proposes asking for closure of safe injection site

A city councillor in Nanaimo, B.C., is expected to push the city to reach out to a B.C. health authority in a bid to close the overdose prevention site next to city hall.

The agenda for Monday’s council meeting says Coun. Ian Thorpe will bring forward a motion, asking council to “formally request” that Island Health close the supervised drug consumption site on Albert Street.

Thorpe said during Nanaimo’s July 21 council meeting that he planned to put forward a motion that tells the provincial government that the city has “had enough” of local disorder.

The motion comes after council decided at a July 16 committee meeting against building a 1.8-metre-high fence proposed by city staff aimed at protecting those at city hall from what they said was violence and disorder associated with the overdose prevention site.

Mayor Leonard Krog said earlier this month that the proposed fence may not have made a “real difference” to workers subjected to intimidation and harassment while sending a “really problematic message” about how to deal with disorder in the area.

The fence came with an estimated cost of $412,000 before it was rejected at the committee meeting.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2025.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press