FEDS TO KICK IN $10M OF ANTI-DRUG FUNDING: SULLIVAN

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan says Ottawa has agreed to give up to $10
million in anti-drug funding to the city. And he wants some of it
earmarked for the prescription-substitution project he's promoting.

Sullivan's opponents aren't impressed. They say that his focus on the
controversial research project is providing Prime Minister Stephen
Harper an easy way to cancel funding for Insite, the supervised
injection site operating under a Health Canada exemption that expires
at the end of June 2008.

In October, Harper's government announced $64 million for a new
national anti-drug strategy aimed at helping addicts and punishing
drug producers.

Yesterday, Sullivan said that after talks in Ottawa, federal Health
Minister Tony Clement promised "up to" $10 million of the money is
earmarked for the city. No decisions have been made on when the money
will arrive or what period it will be spread over.

Sullivan wants it used to help "vulnerable" female addicts working in
the sex trade, he said.

He also wants "some of it" used to help fund the Chronic Addiction
Substitution Treatment, or CAST, program that caused much debate when
Sullivan announced a non-profit society had been formed to design a
test project. The program, which has yet to receive federal approval,
would offer injection-drug users medically prescribed pills as a
substitute, with the aim of reducing some of the public disorder
surrounding drug use in the city.

His comments drew concern from opposition Vision Vancouver Coun.
George Chow, who said Sullivan should have focused harder on lobbying
for Insite and for more long-term treatment beds for users of the
centre who express an interest in cleaning up.

"We should see money going into treatment, to augment the operation
of Insite. I agree with money going toward detox and Downtown
Eastside women engaging in the sex trade," Chow said. "But what he's
really doing is trading horses. He's saying [to Harper], 'OK, I have
this CAST program, you can let Insite go.'"

Sullivan said he lobbied for Insite's continued operation, but got no
official response.