STANCE ON SAFE-INJECTION SITE EARNS CLEMENT REBUKE IN B.C.

MONTREAL - The director of a Vancouver non-profit group that helps
people with mental illness and addictions dismissed federal Health
Minister Tony Clement's comments about Vancouver's safe-injection site
as "embarrassing" yesterday.

"Addiction is a really serious problem that matter to Canadians," said
Mark Townsend, director of the Portland Hotel Society. "A mature
leader should take advice from people who know what's going on."

Earlier yesterday, Mr. Clement assailed the Canadian Medical
Association for supporting the supervised drug-injection site, called
Insite, arguing that allowing heroin addicts to shoot up is against a
health professional's code of ethics.

"I find the ethical considerations of supervised injections to be
profoundly disturbing," Mr. Clement said in a speech, given at the
CMA's annual meeting in Montreal, that drew angry reaction from doctors.

"Is it ethical," he asked, "for health-care professionals to support
the distribution of drugs that are of unknown substance, or purity, or
potency -- drugs that cannot otherwise be legally prescribed? If this
were done in a doctor's office the provincial college (of physicians)
would rightly be investigating."

Mr. Clement added that "the supervised injection site undercuts the
ethic of medical practice and sets a debilitating example for all
physicians and nurses, both present and future in Canada, who might
begin to question whether it's all right to allow someone to overdose
under their care."

But Mr. Townsend said the majority of studies on Insite -- including
those conducted by the government's own health committee -- have shown
that the program saves money and encourages addicts to seek treatment.

"Simple Jenny Craig diet-type programs don't work. We need to have a
comprehensive plan. Stephen Harper thinks there's a simple way out of
addiction," said Mr. Townsend, who would like to see more money
funnelled into prevention.

In his remarks, Mr. Clement did not go so far as to call for the
closing of Insite, Canada's sole supervised drug-injection site, which
was established in 2003 as a pilot project.

However, he recommended that the centre's $3-million annual budget be
redirected toward drug treatment and providing housing for sex workers
in Vancouver's East Side.