Overview
- Manitoba’s legislature passed Bill 48, allowing police and health‑care workers to hold people intoxicated by drugs for up to 72 hours, up from 24 hours.
- Premier Wab Kinew says a central Winnipeg protective care facility will open within about two weeks with 20 units and could double early next year, with full operations expected by December.
- Early implementation will see police work with hospital and facility staff to determine when individuals should be diverted from emergency rooms.
- Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith says the approach is designed to provide stabilization and access to treatment without criminalizing people.
- The plan has drawn both support from some first responders and Winnipeg’s mayor and opposition from nearby residents citing civil‑liberties and consultation concerns, including PDRC allegations that emails to the minister’s office were blocked.