DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE'S SAFE-INJECTION SITE TO OPEN 'IN NEXT WEEK OR SO,' SAYS MAYOR

Vancouver's long-awaited safe-injection site for drug addicts will open "in
the next week or so," one of its greatest champions said yesterday.

"Health Canada is in town and yesterday they went down and looked at it,"
said Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, who essentially won his job after
promising to deal with the drug problems in the Downtown Eastside.

"I'm assuming it met all of their requirements."

Campbell said he had secured $2 million from Premier Gordon Campbell to
operate the site in its first year.

"I am positive the money will be there for the second and the third and the
fourth and the fifth year," he said.

Prevention will be the focus of a major conference in the city in November,
said the mayor, who expects funding for treatment will come from Ottawa's
drug strategy.

Meanwhile, the mayor said transportation had emerged as the top concern of
city residents.

"We've just ignored it and we've got to do something about it or we're
doomed," he said.

"There's going to have to be a considerable amount of money spent on the
transportation infrastructure," he said, noting the need for money to pay
for more buses, the RAV line and rapid transit to Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam
and Port Moody.

Campbell said NightBus, the limited, late-night bus service being tested by
TransLink, is "exceeding expectations" and "I'm hoping we will see this
continue into other lines as we move along."