An application by a Scientology-based company to establish a drug and rehab facility in Milton is headed for a four-day hearing at the end of March to determine if the property owners can set up shop.
A Church of Scientology entity called Social Betterment Properties International has appealed a decision made by the Town’s Committee of Adjustment and Consent to use a property located at 7651 Milburough Line as a drug and rehabilitation facility. Called Narconon, meaning ‘no drugs’, the company treats addictions using nutritional and nutritional supplements, according to company representative Rubina Qureshi.
Since it doesn’t use over-the-counter drugs to treat addiction, it’s not required to obtain a licence from the Province. “And, therefore we were put in a position of having to ask for a minor variance (of zoning bylaw) to clarify that a private drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre conforms with the Town’s definition of a group home,” said Qureshi.
According to the Town’s Planning Director, Barbara Koopmans, the application for a minor variance was denied because it doesn’t conform with the ‘group home type 2’ definition under which the company applied.
“This group home has a number of criteria, deals with a specific amount of residents, licensing issues, supervision and so on. In our opinion as planning staff, the facility does not closely fit with the definition,” she said.
One of the conditions to be classified as a ‘group home type 2’ is for it to be located on a major arterial road. Since Milburough Line is a rural area, it lacks access to services that would be essential for this type of facility, she explained.
“We would direct these types of uses to urban areas with full municipal services, better access to streets and more access to hospitals and ambulances,” said Koopmans. “They (Social Betterment Properties International) didn’t consult with staff before they acquired the property and, therefore, they wouldn’t have known what the permitted uses were for that area,” she said.
Qureshi said that there was no contact with Town staff because it was a “very small centre,” 10 people maximum, and would have “little to no impact on the community.”
The hearing on the controversy is scheduled to take place from March 30 to April 2. Aside from zoning issues, the company has made headlines in previous years for its “unconventional” approaches to treatment. In 2012, the Narconon Quebec location was shuttered after at least four clients were taken to hospital. According to a 2012 CBC media report, the company used lengthy sauna detox sessions and an excessive amount of vitamins to treat patients, as inspired by the teachings of Scientology.
This went against legal criteria for regulating Quebec’s rehab centres, as there was no medical supervision or scientific basis to the treatment, according to the CBC report. Qureshi said that the centre was shut down because of a change in the medical model of treating drug addiction in Quebec, which favoured drug replacement therapy instead of natural remedies.
“We appreciate that the rest of Canada sees the handling of drug addiction differently and recognize that there are alternative methods addressing the problem of drugs,” she said.
Joyce See, director of community health services for the Halton Region Health Department, said she couldn’t comment on the treatment methods prescribed by the Narconon facilities, but said the Region provides psychiatric out-patient services, where medical professionals work with people suffering from addiction. The department also recommends services like ADAPT — Halton Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Assessment Prevention and Treatment Service.
Treatment methods aside, Koopmans and Councillor Cindy Lunau said residents in the area have expressed concerns that a privately-owned facility would be using municipal services, such as hospitals and ambulances, at the expense of the taxpayer.
Qureshi said that most of the services used by the facility would be funded by the clientele and through donations at no further burden to the taxpayer.
“Once we are closer to actually opening the centre, we will invite people from the community to visit the centre and see our program for themselves,” she added.
The opinion of a few Town staffers and the handful of residents who showed up to council chambers last week in support of the committee’s decision is that this day will never come.
“The facility should be placed where its uses are permitted,” said Koopmans. Tom Weinstein, a resident of Milburough Line, thanked committee members for being attentive to their concerns.
“On behalf of the residents of Milburough Line, we thank the Committee of Adjustment for making the decision (to deny the initial application) and we will continue to support the Town at the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board) meeting,” he said.
Qureshi is confident that the OMB, an independent adjudicative tribunal, could decide in their favour because “the program fully complies with all existing laws in the province with respect to drug rehabilitation programs.”
However, lack of access to an arterial road remains a big issue and it will be up to the OMB to weigh the evidence and come to an informed decision. Narconon’s head office is located in Los Angeles, California. The company has more than 100 locations in more than 30 different countries.
Rachael Williams can be reached at rwilliams@miltoncanadianchampion.com and on Twitter @MiltonReports.
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