B.C. EXPERTS' INSITE REPORT NOT ENOUGH FOR OTTAWA

Health Minister Wants 'Diversity' Of Opinions Before Funding Decision

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

Clement made the comment while responding to a report Tuesday in the
Canadian Medical Association Journal, which summarized various
research indicating mostly positive outcomes since the pilot project
began three years ago.

The article, from authors at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in
HIV/AIDS, 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, according to the CMAJ article.

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

"We will also be ensuring that other scientific papers are part of
the mix as well. 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 off the
facility, called Insite, from further research funding when it
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.

Clement didn't explain what steps Ottawa would take to obtain new
research, and Health Canada spokeswoman Jirina Vlk referred media
questions to Clement spokesman Erik Waddell, who couldn't be reached.

The minister cracked a joke when asked by a CBC reporter if Ottawa is
looking for negative research to justify a political decision to
close the facility, noting that "would suggest a level and degree of
organization to which I can only aspire."

The federal government had contributed $1.5 million from 2003-2006
for studies into Insite, a facility that provides 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.

The $1.5 million went to the B.C.-government funded Vancouver Coastal
Health Authority, which in turn contracted the work to the B.C.
Centre for Excellence, which bills itself as "Canada's largest
HIV/AIDS research, treatment and educational 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 even Health Canada
bureaucrats to extend the 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.

Tuesday's peer-reviewed report noted that the government's Sept. 1
announcement followed the Canadian Police Association's claim,
"without providing any data," that Insite has been unsuccessful.

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