B.C. COULD CHALLENGE ABBOTSFORD BYLAW

Zoning Prohibits Methadone Clinics, Injection Sites

ABBOTSFORD I B.C. health ministry staff have suggested the province launch
a court challenge of a new Abbotsford zoning bylaw that prohibits such
"harm reduction" services as safe-injection sites, methadone clinics and
needle exchanges, according to an internal ministry document obtained by
The Vancouver Sun.

The briefing note, prepared for Health Minister George Abbott and obtained
under the Freedom of Information Act, cites three legal remedies as
options: challenging the bylaw in court, invoking Section 874 of the Local
Government Act -- an override provision -- or "introducing legislation
provisions to address zoning restrictions . . ." under the new Public
Health Act or another health-related act.

So far, however, the ministry has not acted on any of the legal options
against the bylaw, which was passed on June 20 by Abbotsford council.
Instead, the ministry is continuing negotiations with Abbotsford council
and senior staff.

"We have met and spent a considerable amount of time with members of the
city council of Abbotsford and their senior officials to discuss this whole
area," deputy health minister Penny Ballem said Friday. "At this point,
there's nothing contemplated in terms of legal remedies laid out in that
briefing note."

Last April, Abbotsford city council voted unanimously to proceed with plans
to amend a zoning bylaw to prohibit such services as safe-injection sites,
methadone clinics, needle exchanges and mobile services for drug users,
saying such services are not the best way to deal with drug addiction.

Ministry officials are concerned the bylaw could potentially restrict
access to health services that could prevent new cases of HIV infection in
Abbotsford, which has financial implications on health-care costs.

"Each new HIV infection represents future health-care costs to taxpayers of
between $180,000 and $225,000," said the minister's briefing note.

Abbotsford reported 26 new HIV infections between 2000 and 2004, of which
13 were directly attributed to injection drug use, the document said.

Health ministry officials initially felt Abbotsford's new zoning bylaw
would violate the Community Charter as it could restrict access to health
services and thereby would need approval of the health minister.

But the briefing note says zoning bylaws do not require approval of the
health ministry because such bylaws fall under the Local Government Act and
local governments have had authority over zoning since the 1930s.

The council of Abbotsford, B.C.'s the fifth largest city with a population
of about 130,000, has consistently rejected safe-injection sites. Public
discussion on the issue began when the Four Pillars drug strategy -- harm
reduction, prevention, treatment and enforcement -- was introduced in
Vancouver.

Vancouver's safe-injection site opened in September 2003 and was the first
of its kind in North America. Funded by Health Canada and the Vancouver
Coastal Health Authority, it offers sterile drug injection equipment to
users in a medically supervised setting.