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Health Canada, per a departmental report, doesn't mandate minimum distances for drug injection sites from schools, daycares, or playgrounds. Health Minister Marjorie Michel stated this wasn't her cabinet's responsibility.

“Health Canada does not set a minimum distance requirement between safe consumption sites and nearby locations such as schools, daycares or playgrounds,” the department wrote in a submission to the Commons health committee. “Nor does the department collect or maintain a comprehensive list of addresses for these facilities in Canada.”

Nonetheless, the department has licensed 31 sites for controlled drugs in six provinces: 13 in Ontario, five each in BC, Alberta, and Québec, two in Saskatchewan, and one in Nova Scotia, according to Blacklock’s.

.@GovCanHealth confirms it enforces no rules on minimum distance of drug injection sites from schools, daycares or parks. Not "my responsibility," Minister tells MPs. https://t.co/OMgVrZ27BC @MBDan7 pic.twitter.com/LyjPGKaC7s

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) November 4, 2025

“Are you aware your department is approving supervised consumption sites next to daycares, schools and playgrounds?” asked Conservative MP Dan Mazier.

“Supervised consumption sites were created to prevent overdose deaths,” replied Michel. “We are reviewing all applications based on criteria.”

Health Canada assesses site requests based on five factors: crime impact, local need, administrative structure, operational resources, and community support/opposition.

Asked again, the minister clarified: “The provinces and territories set the rules," she said, unable to ascertain how many supervised consumption sites are next to daycares or schools. 

Poilievre addresses the 49,000 Canadians who have died from overdoses during Trudeau's tenure as the Liberals fail to stop fentanyl 'superlabs'.

He calls Trump's tariffs "unjustified" but says a foreign leader shouldn't have to point out Canada's problems before we fix them. pic.twitter.com/kSLM6sugk9

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 3, 2025

MP Mazier pressed Health Canada to stop approving supervised consumption sites near daycares or schools. Michel responded, "I will confirm my department will continue to work to protect the health of Canadians."

"They are drug dens," said Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, regarding a drug injection site that opened near a Montréal kindergarten playground in 2024. He questioned the safety of such a location for children.

The Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy (CDSS) shows that the program has utterly failed since its inception in 2017. Despite a billion dollars in funding, the strategy has only seen an escalation of overdose deaths. 

Since April 2016, over 16,000 British Columbians and over 49,000 Canadians have died from drug overdoses, with fentanyl accounting for 76% of those deaths.