6-year-old finds crack pipe in schoolyard near Montreal safe drug consumption site

A mother is speaking out after her six-year-old son picked up a crack pipe in his schoolyard.

A mother is speaking out after she says her six-year-old son picked up a crack pipe in his schoolyard.

Victor-Rousselot Elementary School is next to Maison Benoit Labre, Montreal’s first supervised drug consumption site, located in the St-Henri borough.

CTV spoke to her Friday morning, and she has asked to remain anonymous.

She says it happened on school grounds during a lunchtime game of treasure hunt gone wrong. A young girl picked up the crack pipe and handed it to her son, who blew into it.

“It’s unacceptable,” she said. “They are children, why did they find this in their school yard?”

The mother of two took her son to Sainte-Justine Hospital for tests and says thankfully, he’s okay.

Victor-Rousselot sent a letter to parents on Wednesday, the day of the incident. The principal confirmed that the incident happened and said the situation was quickly dealt with and reported to the appropriate authorities.

The Centre de Services de Scolaire de Montreal says, “we are very sensitive to the situation that occurred on Wednesday at the school, and it is being treated with the utmost seriousness.”

“The safety of the school community remains a concern.”

Residents living in the area are also worried. They say ever since the centre opened last year, they’ve lost a sense of security. Many have documented dozens of incidents, including violence and sexual indecency.

• READ MORE: ‘It’s chaos’: Children harassed at playground near Montreal safe drug-use site

According to the school, the Maison Benoit Labre brigade cleans up before classes start and will now clean up before lunchtime.

But for the 6-year-old’s mother, it’s not enough. She is joining the chorus of people calling for the site to be moved.

Left shaken, she says she’s already thinking of moving schools...or moving out of the neighbourhood entirely.

We reached out to Maison Benoit Labre, but have not heard back.