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AHS provided updated statistics pointing out that there have been 850 overdose reversals since the supervised consumption site opened in 2017.

One woman, who previously used meth and now works as a peer support worker at the Chumir, criticized the city for not including someone with lived experience of drug addiction on the panel.

Jessica McEachern slammed one councillor for describing drug dealers as “scumbags” and suggested a lot of criminal activity can be attributed to the fact there isn’t a reliable, safe supply of drugs available.

“It’s $114,000 to put a person in jail for a year. If you were to put just a third of that into support for a person, you would never see that person in trouble again,” McEachern said.

Committee members heard a number of potential suggestions to mitigate the effects of the crisis, from creative strategies to incentivize needle and drug debris cleanup, to requests to create “lockers” to allow homeless people a place to keep their belongings safe.

At least one councillor was not convinced.

Coun. Sean Chu said he doesn’t agree that drug use should be equated with disease, calling it “a choice” and calling for increased emphasis on individual responsibility.

“Who would love to have this shooting gallery move to your neighbourhood? Anybody? Raise your hand,” said Chu.

A furious Woolley — who lost his own brother to an accidental overdose in 2018 — slapped down his colleague: “I think you should be ashamed of some of the things that come out of your mouth,” he said.

Details presented at Wednesday’s hearing will be brought forward to the next council meeting.

The Feb. 25 meeting will see elected officials vote on a 12-point proposal to implement short-term measures to address rising crime and social disorder around the Chumir.

mpotkins@postmedia.com

Twitter: @mpotkins