OTTAWA OFFICIALS TOLD TO NEGATE 'MYTHS' ABOUT INJECTION SITES

Bureaucrat Gave Order Last Fall, Just Before Health Minister Refused
to Extend Vancouver Facility's Permit

OTTAWA -- A top federal health bureaucrat ordered other officials to
debunk five "myths" -- widely held but false public views -- about
Vancouver's supervised injection site last fall.

The five myths were: That supervised injection sites are "commonly
used" in other countries; that they operate "all across Canada;" that
they are legal; that they present "a complete solution" to drug-use
harms; and that the injection site "has the complete support of the community."

Jo Kennelly, senior policy adviser to Health Minister Tony Clement,
ordered the debunking document just before Clement announced his
refusal last fall to extend the permit for the site.

The order for the document also came only days after other Health
Canada internal briefing notes and media analysis described in
positive terms the progress and public support for the facility, called Insite.

The document shoots down each of the so-called myths -- but there is
no indication which individuals or groups were espousing these views.

"While there is support for the Vancouver supervised injection site,
not everyone is in agreement that it is the most effective way to
address the harms associated with injection drug use in the city's
Downtown Eastside," the document says.

It says the site represents "one possible approach" to drug-use
harms, notes that the facility would be illegal without an exemption,
says there is only one in Canada, and stresses that "only" seven
other countries allow them.

Dr. Julio Montaner, clinical director of the B.C. Centre of
Excellence for HIV/AIDS, said it was "stupid" to imply unanimous support.

"These 'myths' illustrate the poor understanding of whoever crafted
these myths. We have never ever said anything close to this."

Clement, raising questions about research on supervised injection
sites, announced Sept. 1 that he was rejecting the Vancouver Health
Authority's request for a 3 1/2-year extension on the permit that was
first granted in 2003. He deferred the government's decision until
the end of this year.

Clement was much more blunt in a letter, also obtained by The Sun,
addressed to Vancouver Coastal Health Authority president Ida Goodreau.

Clement said the purported positive benefits were "questionable" and
Insite's alleged impact in reducing overdose deaths is "difficult to
determine."

Supporters have alleged that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is
ignoring research and is being driven by ideology as he plans to
unveil a tough new national drug strategy.

Clement spokesman Erik Waddell said Friday the myth-busting document
was developed in reaction to the assertions of Vancouver activists.

"The five statements in that document are representative of
statements made to our office by various community groups in
Vancouver," Waddell, who didn't identify the groups, said in an e-mail.

"The responses to the statements in the document were written by
Health Canada officials when our office asked them to do a fact check
of the statements."

Health Canada's own internal documents from last August indicated
that local support for Insight was significant.

"Media coverage throughout August has been weighted heavily in
support of Vancouver's supervised injection site, featuring a broad
range of politicians, health experts, and social activists urging the
federal government to continue operating the facility when its
three-year study period concludes," Lifeline Communications Group
Inc. told Health Canada.

A "questions and answers" briefing note, circulating within Health
Canada by e-mail on Sept. 1, 2006, listed 23 B.C. stakeholders
supporting Insight, including the B.C. government, Vancouver Mayor
Sam Sullivan, the Vancouver police department, and various public
health agencies and groups such as the Vancouver Chinatown Merchants
Association.

No opponents were identified.