WE'RE WEIGHING OPINIONS ON INJECTION SITE: TORIES

Journal Cites Mostly Positive Outcomes

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, which 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.

"We welcome any scientific papers on the topic," Clement said at a
news conference when asked about the article.

"We will also be ensuring that other scientific papers are part of
the mix as well," he said.

"And then we'll be able to weigh the evidence in having all the
evidence on the table, on all the questions that are raised by the
supervised injection site and come to a better conclusion 18 months from now."

Why then, he was asked, did the federal government cut the project
off from further research funding when Clement announced on Sept. 1 a
limited extension of the pilot project?

"Well, I think it's important to have a diversity of research,"
Clement replied.

The federal government had contributed $1.5 million from 2003-06 for
research into the facility, which has 12 injection stalls, clean
needles for addicts, nurses to assist when users overdose, and a
referral service for those seeking rehabilitation programs, housing
or health advice.

But federal research funding into the so-called "harm-

reduction" initiative 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 "initial research has raised questions" about the project.

Yesterday's peer-reviewed report, produced by the B.C. Centre for
Excellence in HIV/AIDS, noted the government's Sept. 1 announcement
followed the Canadian Police Association's claim, "without providing
any data," that the facility - Insite - has been unsuccessful.

Dr. Thomas Kerr, one of the report's authors, said evaluation and
research is continuing with the help of funding from the Vancouver
Coastal Health Authority.

He said he is unaware of any other current research under way.

"We are happy to collaborate, provided those involved are
appropriately qualified and provided that the research methods are
solid, and lastly provided that they follow the same principles that
we have followed by seeking independent peer review of their research
prior to public dissemination," Kerr said in an email.

Dr. Julio Montaner, another of the report's authors, said Monday the
government is being driven not by public health but by ideological
concerns relating to its tough law-and-order agenda.