LIBERALS' INSITE MAIL-OUT PANNED

A federal Liberal Party mailing from leader Stephane Dion into a
Vancouver riding about the controversial InSite safe drug injection
site is under attack as "fear mongering" by the Conservatives, while
the New Democratic Party calls it a "waste."

And the mailing, which misspells the word "minister" in referring to
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is a "rush job" and "confusing," say
the two parties.

The November mailing to thousands of households in NDP Member of
Parliament Libby Davies' Vancouver East riding accuses the
Conservative federal government of "dithering" on renewing InSite's
mandate and says "harm reduction saves lives."

But Davies says the Liberals' mailing is ironic.

"I wish they'd done a lot more on harm reduction when they were in
government but they don't talk about that," Davies said in an
interview, calling it a "waste."

Conservative Party spokesperson Ryan Sparrow said the Liberal mailing
strategy is "confusing" and rejected its points.

"We've long been the party that delivers initiatives rather than fear
mongering," he said from Ottawa.

But Liberal Party Communications Director Elizabeth Whiting told 24
hours from Ottawa that InSite is a "major issue" worthy of mailing
on.

Whiting said MPs can mail up to 10 per cent of a non-incumbent riding
with their message, paid out of their House of Commons budget, not the
party's.

InSite recently got a six-month extension to continue operating until
June 2008.