To Northern Health:

We the undersigned own properties and/or run businesses in close proximity to your needle exchange operations located on Third Avenue in Prince George. Perhaps you are aware of the recent news stories in the Prince George Citizen and CKPG regarding the ongoing problems with loitering, littering,drug use and drug dealing that is generated as a direct result of the operations of the needle exchange.

As a result of your ongoing operations, hypodermic needles are being routinely dropped on the ground around our buildingsand businesses. Wealso have users routinely shooting up in the alleyway or the entrances of our buildings using the needles you are providing. With drug users come drug dealers, whose activities appear to be increasing and take place out in the open. The installation of drop boxes for the needles is not enough. In fact, it appears to encourage users to consume their drugs outside our buildingsin the alleys.

While it is laudable to provide clean needles to protect against transmission of serious disease, your activities and your operations are starting to cause serious problems, and are becoming a wholesale nuisance.As you are well aware, the City has been encouraging downtown business development for years. The courthouse was seen as a major step towards revitalization of the downtown core, as was the wood innovation centre. This being said, the never-ending congregation of drug users and drug dealers sitting in the alleyways and on the sidewalks in front of your building and ours, both selling and using drugs, is becoming a major discouragement to both landowners, tenants, and patrons of our shared downtown, and undermines the City's revitalization efforts.

You are not acting like a responsible neighbour should. We have reviewed your published "strategic plan" and nor do you appear to be meeting your stated goals, examples of which include (taken verbatim from your website):

As Prince George's largest corporate citizen, you have a responsibility to the entire community which you serve and to support the City's downtown improvement initiatives. As our neighbour, you are failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that your activities don't negatively affect our rights and needs.

It is time that Northern Health take proactive steps to resolve this issue. One clear option available to you is to move the needle exchange to another location. This location could remain in the downtown, but should be in a more sensible location that represents a more fair and thoughtful outcome for all users. This would accomplish two good ends. It would foster the continued growth of professional style businesses and restaurants in the downtown core, which would increase property values which would in turn increase tax revenues for City use. It would also give drug users the same access the services you are offering. Another option is to continue to ignore the issue. This is far less palatable. Your neighbours are tired and will either leave the downtown or commence civil proceedings to determine what is reasonable. Since the latter alternatives are not desired and will end up costing money to everyone, our hope is that your board will seriously consider the former.

To be clear, we understand and recognize that Northern health is one of the stakeholders in the downtown. The work being done is important. But it is no more nor less important than the interests and expectations of its neighbours. Rather than work separately towards separate ends, we can work together to one common end: A vibrant downtown and continued access to essential services.

We trust that you will give serious attention to our concerns.