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===== Alberta =====
In August 2020, [[ARCHES Lethbridge]] in [[Lethbridge]], [[Alberta]], the largest SCS in North America, closed shortly after Alberta revoked their grant for misuse of grant funds.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Roulston|first1=Tom|last2=Nixon|first2=Liam|date=July 23, 2020|title=ARCHES audit findings turned over to Lethbridge police for investigation|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7211328/arches-supervised-consumption-site-audit-police-investigation/|access-date=2020-09-27|website=Global News|language=en-US}}</ref> Shortly after opening in February 2018,<ref name="Pijl_20200113" /> ARCHES Lethbridge found itself repetitively necessitating police intervention and/or [[emergency medical services]] for opioid-related issues;<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|last=Vogt|first=Terry|date=2020-03-05|title=Government review says Lethbridge SCS has 'most problems in the province'|url=https://
The average per-capita operating cost of government sanctioned sites are reported to be CAD$600 per unique-client, with the exception of the ARCHES Lethbridge which had a disproportionately high cost of CAD $3,200 per unique client.<ref name=":8" />
In September 2020, a group in [[Lethbridge]], [[Alberta]] led by an ARCHES employee started hosting an unauthorized SCS in public places in a tent.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gunn|first=Connor|title=Galt Gardens pop-up injection site moves ___location on 2nd night|url=https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2020/09/26/galt-gardens-pop-up-injection-site-moves-___location-on-2nd-night/|access-date=2020-09-27|website=Lethbridge News Now|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|date=2020-09-26|title=Unsanctioned injection site sets up in Galt Gardens|url=https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2020/09/26/unsanctioned-injection-site-sets-up-in-galt-gardens/|access-date=2020-09-27|website=The Lethbridge Herald – News and Sports from around Lethbridge}}</ref> The group did not have authorizations to operate an SCS or a permit to pitch a tent in the park. The organizer was issued citations for the tent; and the [[Lethbridge Police Service]] advised that users utilizing the unauthorized SCS would be arrested for drug possession, because exemptions do not apply to unauthorized sites.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ferris|first=Danica|date=September 29, 2020|title=Pop-up overdose prevention site operators fined $300 by City of Lethbridge|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7367572/pop-up-overdose-prevention-site-fine-lethbridge/|access-date=2020-10-03|website=Global News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Lethbridge group sets up unsanctioned overdose prevention site in Galt Gardens|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7361329/lethbridge-overdose-prevention-unsanctioned-galt-gardens/|access-date=2020-09-27|website=Global News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Korol|first=Todd|date=October 5, 2020|title=Lethbridge drug-consumption site seeks Health Canada's permission to operate|work=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-lethbridge-drug-consumption-site-seeks-health-canadas-permission-to/|access-date=2020-10-07}}</ref> This opening of this illegal drug consumption tent was controversial and became a subject of discussion at the City Council meeting.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goulet|first=Justin|date=September 29, 2020|title=Organizer of pop-up injection site issued fine|url=https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2020/09/29/organizer-of-pop-up-injection-site-issued-fine/|access-date=2020-10-01|website=Lethbridge News Now|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Barrow|first=Tyler|date=2020-09-28|title=Protestors gather outside Lethbridge city hall frustrated over pop-up overdose prevention site|url=https://
===== Ontario =====
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In the City of Lethbridge's commissioned 2020 102-page report, the author noted that "Calgary's Sheldon Chumir SCS has received considerable negative press about the "rampant" social disorder around the SCS, a neighbourhood that is mixed residential and commercial."<ref name="Pijl_20200113"/>{{rp|15}} According to a May 2019 ''Calgary Herald'' article, the 250 meter radius around the safe consumption site Safeworks in [[Calgary]] located within the [[Sheldon M. Chumir Centre]] has seen a major spike in crime since its opening and described in a report by the police as having become "ground zero for drug, violent and property crimes in the downtown." Within this zone, statistics by the police in 2018 showed a call volume increase to the police by 276% for drug related matters 29% overall increase relative to the three-year average statistics.<ref name="CalgaryHearld_Hudes">{{Cite web|url=https://calgaryherald.com/news/crime/incremental-improvement-but-crime-still-plagues-area-around-safe-consumption-site-in-beltline |first=Sammy |last=Hudes |date=May 21, 2019 |access-date=January 26, 2020|title=Crime near Calgary's only safe consumption site remains a concern |newspaper= Calgary Herald}}</ref> In May 2019, the ''Calgary Herald'', said that [[Health Canada]] announced in February 2019 of approval for Siteworks to operate for another year, conditional to addressing neighborhood safety issues, drug debris and public disorder.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/breakenridge-fix-crime-issues-around-safeworks-or-risk-losing-its-valuable-service|title=Breakenridge: Fix crime issues around Safeworks or risk losing it {{!}} Calgary Herald|last=Breakenridge|first=Rob|work=calgaryherald |date=2019-02-05|language=en|access-date=2019-10-11}}</ref> There has been a plan for mobile safe consumption site intending to operate in the [[Forest Lawn, Calgary|Forest Lawn, Calgary, Alberta]], however in response to the statistics at the permanent site at the Sheldon M. Chumir Centre, community leaders have withdrawn their support.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/forest-lawn-community-leaders-withdraw-support-for-mobile-safe-consumption-vehicle|title=Forest Lawn withdraws support for mobile safe consumption vehicle {{!}} Calgary Herald|last=Logan|first=Shawn|work=calgaryherald |date=2019-02-05|language=en|access-date=2019-10-11}}</ref>
By September 2019, the number of overdose treatment at Safeworks spiked. The staff were overwhelmed and 13.5% of their staff took psychological leave. They have had dealt with 134 overdose reversals in 2019 which was 300% more than the same time period from the previous year. The center's director reported they're dealing with an average of one overdose reversal every other day.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://
===== Lethbridge: ARCHES (Closed August 2020) =====
In response to the mounting death toll of drug overdose in Lethbridge, the city opened its first SCS in February, 2018.<ref name="Pijl_20200113"/>{{rp|15}} The controversial<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goulet|first=Justin|title=ARCHES ceases supervised consumption services in Lethbridge|url=https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2020/08/31/arches-ceases-supervised-consumption-services-in-lethbridge-2/|access-date=2020-09-26|website=Lethbridge News Now|language=en}}</ref> SCS, known as [[ARCHES Lethbridge|ARCHES]] was once the busiest SCS in North America.<ref name=":3" />
The province defunded ARCHES after an audit ordered by government discovered misuse and mismanagement of public monies. Around 70% of ARCHES funding comes from the province,<ref name=":4" /> and it chose to shut it down on August 31, 2020 after the funding was revoked.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|last=Fletcher|first=Robson|date=September 23, 2020|title=Opioid overdoses spike amid COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 3 Albertans dying per day|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-q2-2020-opioid-deaths-1.5735931}}</ref> The audit found “funding misappropriation, non-compliance with grant agreement [and] inappropriate governance and organizational operations.”<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=MLA Shannon Phillips and others react to ARCHES losing provincial funding after government-ordered audit|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7189990/arches-lethbridge-supervised-consumption-audit-reaction/|access-date=2020-09-26|website=Global News|language=en-US}}</ref> The Alberta government requested that the site be investigated for possible criminal misuse of funds.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last1=Bourne|first1=Kirby|last2=Therien|first2=Eloise|date=July 16, 2020|title=Government pulls grant funding from Lethbridge safe consumption site citing fund mismanagement|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7184155/arches-lethbridge-grant-funding-safe-consumption-site/|access-date=2020-09-26|website=Globalnews.ca|language=en-US}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, Lethbridge Police Service announced that the funds, which had previously been reported as missing, had been present and accounted for in bank accounts belonging to the SCS. Acting Inspector Pete Christos stated that the initial auditors did not have the means to determine whether money was missing, and confirmed that, during police interviews with Arches staff, all spent funds had been accounted for. Police Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh told reporters that the Alberta Justice Specialized Prosecutions Branch supported the police's findings and were not recommending criminal charges.<ref name=":LPSfunds">{{cite news |last1=Vogt |first1=Terry |title=Missing ARCHES funds accounted for: Lethbridge police |url=https://
The City of Lethbridge commissioned a report that included an Urban Social Issues Study (USIS) which examined unintended consequences of the SIS site in Lethbridge.<ref name="Pijl_20200113" /> The research found that in smaller cities, such as Lethbridge, that in communities with a SCS, social disorder may be more noticeable. The report's author, [[University of Lethbridge]]'s Em M. Pijl, said that news media tended to the "personal experiences of business owners and residents who work and/or live near an SCS", which contrasts with "scholarly literature that demonstrates a lack of negative neighbourhood impacts related to SCSs."<ref name="Pijl_20200113" />{{rp|14}}
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