MP NOT SUPPORTING EXEMPTION FOR INJECTION CLINIC

Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement says there is not a lot of
sympathy in his riding for Vancouver's Insite facility to receive an
extended exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

The only one of its kind in North America, Insite is a facility where
public health workers provide drug addicts with clean needles as well
as support in case of an overdose. The injection site was established
by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) in partnership with the Portland
Hotel Community Services Society in the fall of 2003 as a pilot
project in attempt to address the increasingly risky and open drug
scene in Vancouver's downtown east side.

The goal of the project was to collect information on whether such a
facility, with nurses and counsellors on hand, could be an effective
way to bring people off the streets and into a place where they can
access clean supplies and general support. To operate legally, Health
Canada granted VCH a three-year operating exemption under Section 56
of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and has since provided
$500,000 every year to support it. The exemption previously has been
temporarily extended twice.

Last week, members of the Insite for Community Safety campaign made a
stop in Huntsville to engage in what they were calling a "peaceful
picket" at Clement's constituency office. They also visited
Bracebridge and Parry Sound in an attempt to raise awareness and
support on the importance of Insite receiving the exemption.

"It's their right to do," said Clement. "I would never abridge their
right to protest. There's not a lot of sympathy in my riding on their
position for the exemption. I think most people want to concentrate on
helping people get off drugs, not keeping people on them.

"First of all, our government is concentrating on enforcing our laws
to get rid of the dealers, and secondly on treatment and prevention -
making sure kids don't get on drugs in the first place. These people
need our help. If it was my son or daughter in that facility, I would
want to think the government was trying to help me get my son or
daughter off drugs. We have not made a decision on the exemption,"
continued Clement. "We are actively reviewing it and we'll be making a
decision in the future."

While scientific data collected indicates that Insite is meeting
certain objectives including reducing public injections, reducing
overdose fatalities, reducing the transmission of blood-borne
infections like HIV and Hepatitis C, and reducing injection-related
infections as well as improving public order, the federal government
has remained quiet as to whether the exemption will be granted or not.

Leah Martin, a program worker with the Portland Hotel Community
Services Society, was at Clement's office with her partner Joey Only,
and Mark Townsend, who works for the community group that runs Insite
in co-operation with VCH. They embarked on a cross-Canada tour in a
U-Haul truck filled with information on the benefits of the Insite
facility as well as 868 crosses that represent overdose incidents at
the site as well as potential deaths.

"Our six-month term is closing at the end of June, so it's getting to
the last days for the federal government to let is know," said Martin.
"They're definitely holding out on us. Within our travels we've been
visiting members of Parliament who are in opposition and who continue
to let their own ideologies and morals (affect their) decision. We're
not saying, 'choose this over treatment or enforcement.' We're saying,
'we need this (injection site) just as much'."

Calling Insite a harm-reduction approach, Martin stated there is a
significant amount of scientific, factual evidence the injection site
is reaching its goals. She said there have also been 25 peer-reviewed
studies by different researchers in British Columbia whose field of
profession is to investigate different approaches to health care, and
all the studies have been positive.

"Tony Clement is calling for an evaluation of our research," she said.
"Tony and members of the federal government have compiled an expert
advisory committee and have spent up to $2 million to evaluate the
site and its research and results from those committees have been positive."

Clement did not comment on whether the results were, in fact, positive
but stated, "Our government's position is that the results are mixed.
Only five per cent of drug users on the downtown east side use the
site. At best, those that use the site only use it for 10 per cent of
their injections, so there's a whole lot of other conclusions in the
expert advisory panel's reports, which are, at best, mixed."

Martin further explained that criminologist Neil Boyd for Simon Fraser
University was commissioned by the federal government to conduct a
cost-benefit analysis on the Insite facility. The study revealed that
for every $1 spent on Insite, taxpayers save $4 and that crime rates
were unaffected by the implementation of the facility. As well, Boyd
noted there were some improvements in public order with respect to
decreased injection debris and decreased injections around the site.
He also found that the facility lowered the risk of contracting
diseases like HIV, which can be spread through needle-sharing; that
drug-users who visit Insite are more likely to enter treatment
programs; and that deaths due to drug overdoses have been averted
because staff is on hand to intervene.

In a letter written by B.C. Minister of Health George Abbott to
Clement on May 6, Abbott expressed his support for the exemption to
allow the operation of Insite as part of a supervised injection site
scientific research pilot project in Vancouver.

"Drug use affects us all in communities across Canada and it is a very
complex, social issue that needs many approaches," said Martin. "It's
a huge issue for Vancouver's inner city core."