INSITE BACKERS BEG PM TO KEEP IT OPEN

June 30 Deadline Looms; Health Department Says It Has Made No Decision
Yet

VANCOUVER - Supporters of Vancouver's supervised drug injection site
were in Ottawa on Tuesday, "begging" Prime Minister Stephen Harper to
put politics aside and keep Insite open.

The facility is legally allowed to operate because the federal
government granted it an exemption from narcotics laws. It expires
June 30 and the government has not indicated whether the facility will
be allowed to continue operating.

"At this juncture, we believe Harper has a clear decision to make: Is
he going to go the route of ideology or is he going to go the route of
good, solid, scientifically supported public health policy?" said Liz
Evans, who runs Insite in partnership with the Vancouver Coastal
Health Authority.

"We believe that is his decision that he has to make today, to take it
out of the realm of politics and put it in the realm of public health,
which is firmly where it belongs."

A recent report by a government-appointed expert advisory panel said
the controversial site in the Downtown Eastside doesn't affect crime
rates, saves at least one life a year from overdose, provides nursing
services to users, is generally supported by the public and has
increased the use of detoxification and treatment services.

Evans, joined at a news conference by members of the Canadian
Association for Nurses in AIDS Care, said enough research and studies
have been done to prove that harm-reduction strategies, such as safe
injection sites, are effective and worthwhile.

Insite has its critics, including the Canadian Police Association, but
Evans said the facility has virtually everyone on side and just needs
the approval, not even funding, from the federal government.

"Please listen to the nurses that are here today and do the right
thing. We are begging the prime minister to make a decision that's
right for the people of British Columbia, and for Canada," said Evans.

Health Minister Tony Clement, the federal minister responsible for
Insite, was not available for an interview, but his office provided a
statement saying, "We are carefully reviewing the research. Insite's
exemption expires June 30. No decision has been made."

Clement's office did not provide a response to CANAC's criticism that
the federal government's National Anti-Drug Strategy, announced in the
fall of 2007, failed to include support for harm-reduction programs.

The government's three-pronged anti-drug plan involves preventing
illegal drug use, treating addicts and going after drug producers and
dealers, but harm reduction is the missing link among those
approaches, said CANAC.

"If we don't have harm reduction, if we don't have Insite, those
people will be dead. Dead people cannot enter into treatment," said
CANAC president Greg Riehl.