SEND ADDICTS TO COUNTRY, MLA URGES

District Board Cool To Mayencourt Plan To Set Up Rehab Programs On
B.C. Farms

VANCOUVER -- Vancouver MLA Lorne Mayencourt's proposal to add a fifth
pillar to the four-pillar approach of dealing with addicts from the
Downtown Eastside -- moving them to a rural area where they can farm
and produce their own goods -- failed to catch fire at a Greater
Vancouver Regional District board meeting.

Pitched on Friday, the proposal aims to imitate a 28-year-old Italian
program under which 2,200 addicts live and work.

Mr. Mayencourt said the San Patrignano model could work in the Fraser
Valley, the Okanagan or 100 Mile House, and that there are private
financiers in the Vancouver business community interested in starting
the project.

But during his presentation to councillors and mayors of the region,
the Liberal MLA was questioned about his party's commitment to helping
the mentally ill, homeless and addicts.

He said he has not yet taken his proposal to his government, but has
received positive feedback from the Attorney-General and
Solicitor-General.

Mr. Mayencourt said the four-pillars approach -- prevention, harm
reduction, treatment and enforcement -- needs a fifth pillar of hope.

Under his proposal, addicts would live for months, even years, in a
rural area as part of their treatment.

The San Patrignano model, situated about 120 kilometres from Bologna,
is the largest live-in drug-treatment centre in Europe. Addicts grow
fruits and vegetables -- producing 80 per cent of the food consumed --
breed horses and run a winery at the site.

The proposal for a B.C. version prompted questions on
Friday.

Moving the disenfranchised to a rural site could create other issues,
Coquitlam Mayor Maxine Wilson said.

"This scares me a little," she said. "This is a form of
institutionalization."

Segregating the mentally ill, homeless and addicts doesn't deal with
how to integrate them into society, Ms. Wilson said.

Mr. Mayencourt said the ideal location for the site would be close to
major highways and cities so addicts could sell and distribute the
products they make, but far enough away from the drug problems of an
urban area.

"It actually is segregating people with addictions, but done in the
same way that rich people do it," Mr. Mayencourt said. "If someone
rich has a son with a heroin addiction, they may send them for
treatment at the best place possible and it could be the Fraser Valley."

Mayor Hal Weinberg from the village of Anmore said there are
discussions beginning about whether Ashcroft is a potential site for
the treatment facility.

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said the issues of addiction, mental
illness and homelessness must be dealt with by social and health
policies. The board where Mr. Mayencourt made the pitch deals with
utility issues, the mayor said.

"I encourage you to take this to your provincial government," Mr.
Corrigan said. "The present situation is not working for any of us."