A proposed overdose prevention site in Vancouver that has drawn the ire of the mayor now faces the threat of a lawsuit over the local health authority's duty to properly consult with the community, Postmedia has learned.
Less than a year ago, Vancouver Coastal Health committed in a legal settlement to conduct community engagement before opening new overdose prevention sites. But the health authority is facing a new lawsuit over its alleged failure to follow through on that promise for the proposed Thomus Donaghy site at 900 Helmcken St., which it announced just days ago.
Coastal Health’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Patricia Daly, is pushing back on those accusations, insisting on Thursday that the agency did nothing wrong. “There was definitely consultation, and we believe we’ve met our obligation,” she said.
However, the lawyer for a plaintiff in an earlier lawsuit involving a previous Thomus Donaghy site location accused the health authority of violating the settlement agreement the parties entered into last year. In that previous case, downtown Vancouver resident Mike Wilson alleged in 2024 that mismanagement of a former overdose prevention site on Seymour Street was damaging the surrounding neighbourhood. It was proposed as a class-action lawsuit seeking damages for affected area residents and businesses.
The litigation ended last fall with a settlement agreement where the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Coastal Health made several commitments, including community consultation before opening new overdose prevention sites.
Reached on Thursday, Wilson said he spoke with several businesses and strata corporations in the area around the Helmcken site and found no evidence anyone was consulted before Coastal Health signed the lease for the planned site. “They just made this agreement a few months ago. It’s crazy to me that they would breach it right away,” said Wilson.
The Seymour Street location closed in 2024 and moved to a site on Howe, which closed in January of this year, leaving Coastal Health looking for a new location. Earlier this week, when it was revealed that new location would be on Helmcken, Mayor Ken Sim held a news conference to say he would block the proposed site, claiming such facilities have “disastrous impacts” on neighbourhoods and fail struggling drug users, and that there was no meaningful consultation with the city or other affected groups.
Daly, though, said Coastal Health met in February and March with senior City of Vancouver staff as well as representatives of the Granville Entertainment District and the Downtown Vancouver business association. She said her agency presented two options for the new site’s location — one on Helmcken and one on Granville. Those consulted had a “loud and clear” preference for Helmcken, Daly said.
