HARPER'S DRUG CRACKDOWN COULD CUT FUNDS FOR SAFE-INJECTION SITE

Conservative leader Stephen Harper has vowed to crack down on drugs
by imposing stiffer penalties, halting the decriminalization of
marijuana and throwing doubt on Vancouver's safe injection site experiment.

"We as a government will not use taxpayers' money to fund drug use,"
Harper said in Burnaby Saturday. "That is not the strategy we will pursue."

Clay Adams, director of communications with Vancouver Coastal Health,
refused to speculate on whether the site, called Insite, would be
closed but said he wasn't surprised by the statement. "What we're
seeing here is a not-surprising position from [the Conservative]
party that favours more of an enforcement approach to illegal drug
use and of course the injection site is based on a harm-reduction
approach," Adams said.

The Conservative Party's anti-drug campaign proposes mandatory
minimum sentences of two years for trafficking hard drugs such as
heroin, cocaine or crystal meth. The same penalties would apply to
large amounts of marijuana or hashish. Fines for trafficking or
producing drugs would be increased to "reflect the street value" and
would escalate for repeat offenders.

Harper would also eliminate conditional sentences, scrap plans to
decriminalize marijuana and introduce a national drug strategy aimed at youth.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that we have seen a rapid expansion
of the drug trade since this government first tabled its marijuana
decriminalization legislation," Harper said. "It sent a signal to
society, to police officers and to the drug industry that they were
simply not serious about enforcing drug laws. Some people want to
deal with the problem by simply surrendering."

Instead, he said the federal government must send a clear message
that the proliferation of illegal drugs is unacceptable.

"Our values are under attack," he told reporters, adding that
ensuring a peaceful and safe society is "a value that none of the
other parties seem to care about."

Harper criticized former Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell's soft stance on drugs.

"Campbell said the idea of a crystal meth crisis in our communities
is garbage," Harper said. "I think [voters] are going to have to ask
themselves, and I think they are asking themselves in this community
what was Larry Campbell's record on that and what happened in
Vancouver during that period. I think the voters of Vancouver cast
their judgment on that with Mr. Campbell's party in the recent elections."

Campbell said Saturday that Harper had misconstrued his comments,
which were that while crystal methamphetamine was a problem, there
was no evidence of an "epidemic."

In an interview with a Vancouver radio station Saturday morning,
Harper sparked interest with comments that he would seek out and use
private health care if his wife was forced to wait upwards of 18
months for a hip replacement under the public health-care system.

"Well, I'll just say that as a father and a husband you will do
whatever you need to do to take care of your family," he said.