INJECTION SITE RULING MAKES OTTAWA UNHAPPY

Insite Can Remain Open Indefinitely After Court Rules That Law Violates Charter

Federal Health Minister Tony Clement made it clear Wednesday he is
unhappy with the decision by a B.C. Supreme Court judge on
Vancouver's supervised drug injection site.

Clement said his government disagrees with the ruling by Justice Ian
Pitfield that Canada's trafficking and possession laws violate the
Charter rights of drug addicts to get help at Insite for what is a
medical condition.

Pitfield declared that Insite can remain open indefinitely and that
current drug laws are unconstitutional with respect to Insite. He
gave the federal government a year to rewrite its narcotics laws to
allow for the kind of drug use and handling that takes place there.

During question period, Clement was asked by Vancouver New Democratic
Party MP Libby Davies whether the government would abide by the court
decision, released Tuesday, or appeal it.

"I'm not in charge of appeals, that's the minister of justice. But I
can say that on this side of the House at least, we are disappointed
with the judgment.

"We disagree with the judgment," said Clement. The government is
"examining our options," he added.

The non-profit group that runs Insite, along with two drug users, had
gone to court to ask that Insite be allowed to operate even without
the exemption it now has from federal drug laws. That exemption is
set to expire on June 30 and Clement has not yet indicated whether it
will be extended.

His comments Wednesday were clear, however, on the approach the
Conservative government prefers to take to help addicts and tackle
illegal drug use.

"We on this side of the House care about treating drug addicts who
need our help. We care about preventing people, especially our young
people, from becoming drug addicts in the first place. That is our
way to reduce harm in our society and we are proud of taking that
message to the people of Canada," he said.

Clement will likely be repeating this message today. He is one of
several people called to speak to the standing committee on health in
Ottawa, where a Liberal MP asked for a session on harm reduction and
the supervised-injection site.

Opposition parties have been using Ottawa's standing committees as a
way to push their agenda, since Conservative MPs are in the minority on them.

Many of the country's most prominent advocates for the
supervised-injection site will be appearing, including former
Vancouver mayor Philip Owen, nurse Liz Evans from the non-profit
group that runs Insite, and Vancouver drug policy coordinator Donald
MacPherson.

So far, no other cities have indicated they are willing to start an
injection site as a result of the ruling.

Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe said he would be willing to "push it right
now" if he had the support of the Vancouver Island Health Authority.