HEALTH MINISTER SAYS GOVERNMENT NEEDS MORE DATA ON INJECTION
SITE

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government cut off federal
funding for Vancouver's controversial supervised injection site for
drug addicts because it wants a "diversity" of opinions before
deciding on the facility's future, Health Minister Tony Clement said
yesterday.

Clement was responding to a report in the latest edition of the
Canadian Medical Association Journal that summarized various research,
indicating mostly positive outcomes, since the pilot project was
initiated three years ago.

The article said studies have shown a large reduction in public drug
use, fewer incidents of addicts sharing syringes and discarding them
in public places, and increased use of detoxification services in
Vancouver. There has been no increase in drug-dealing around the
facility in the city's Downtown Eastside.

The federal government had contributed $1.5 million for research into
the facility. But federal research funding was halted after Clement
announced in a Sept. 1 news release that he wouldn't accept the
recommendation from the B.C. government, the City of Vancouver, and
Health Canada bureaucrats to extend the site's permit for another
three years. Instead, he gave the facility a reprieve until Dec. 31,
2007, while noting that "initial research has raised questions" about
the project.

The government's Sept. 1 announcement followed the Canadian Police
Association's conclusion that the facility has been unsuccessful.