CONSERVATIVES TO ANNOUNCE FATE OF INJECTION SITE

VANCOUVER -- The federal Conservative government will make an
announcement on the future of the city's supervised injection site
before its legal operating licence expires Sept. 12.

However, Erik Waddell, press secretary to Health Minister Tony
Clement, said Wednesday he didn't know when a decision will be made.

"You can anticipate it before the expiry date," said Waddell,
answering for Clement who is in meetings all week.

Waddell said the government is doing an "assessment" of Insite at 139
East Hastings. Asked to elaborate, Waddell said he would gather
information and call back.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on a recent trip to Vancouver he
would consult the RCMP before deciding the fate of Insite.

Health Canada spent $1.5 million on the research component of Insite,
which included evaluations by the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Gillian Maxwell, from a local campaign called Insite for Community
Safety, said she was encouraged by Waddell's news.

Maxwell said the campaign has collected more than 2,000 letters from
various people, including politicians, Police Chief Jamie Graham and
drug users. The letters have been sent to the prime minister's office.
"It's a health matter, the important thing is to review the extensive
and thorough research that has been done on that site for the last
three years," said Maxwell, noting 20 peer reviews have been published
internationally.

Insite is the only legal injection site in North America.