TEAM CHRETIEN PLACES HOCKEY AHEAD OF DRUG OD CRISIS

People in B.C. continue to die by the dozen from drug overdoses, and
hundreds of thousands of homeless Canadians go without proper shelter.

Advocates in the health and social-service arenas have been pressing
the federal government for years to stop denying the extent of the
human devastation caused by drug addiction and homelessness. They want
the Chretien Liberals to take the lead in resolving these two gaping
holes in the country's social fabric; summit meetings led by senior
Ottawa ministers are often suggested as a starting point.

And what have the Liberals done? Sat on the fence, obfuscated, passed
the buck and the blame, and wrapped their denial in layer upon layer
of feigned concern.

Drug deaths and homelessness are not yet at the summit stage for Team
Chretien, unlike the state of professional hockey, which will be given
a summit meeting later this month headed by Industry Minister John
Manley.

Jean Chretien himself, propelled by the non-stop whining of Canada's
millionaire NHL team owners, gave Manley a mandate to find a solution
to their complaints about being uncompetitive with American teams. How
sweet for the well-heeled corporate hockey set.

But when it comes to developing a new and better strategy for dealing
with drug overdose deaths, the Liberals can't even supply a senior
minister to debate the issue in the House of Commons.

That was the experience last week for Vancouver East MP Libby Davies,
who after an eight-month wait finally got to introduce her private
member's bill calling on the government to approve tightly-controlled
clinical heroin prescription trials.

She saw no sign of Health Minister Allan Rock in the House. Nor was
Justice Minister Anne McLellan visible.

Instead, the Liberals trotted out Elinor Caplan, Rock's parliamentary
secretary, to perform the predictable hand-wringing over the tragedy
of overdose deaths and then dismiss Davies' motion.

Caplan said the government is already pursing "viable,
well-established strategies" such as methadone treatment. Heroin
trials would be controversial and "have uncertain outcomes."

As opposed to the certain outcome of death from overdoses in the
current patchwork and inferior war on drugs.

In the last decade, well over 2,000 people in B.C. have died of
overdoses. Last year, the toll rose by 371 people. From Jan. 1 to
March 24 of this year, 58 people in B.C. fatally overdosed, 48 in
Greater Vancouver and New Westminster alone.

Davies' well-researched arguments were ignored. Clinical heroin
maintenance is a success in Switzerland, Germany, the U.K. and the
Netherlands. In Switzerland, the policy has reduced overdose deaths,
health costs and criminal offences by addicts, while increasing the
number of addicts able to hold down a job.

Davies delivered a rollcall of mainstream authorities in Canada who
support clinical heroin trials, including the Canadian Medical
Association, former B.C. provincial health officer Dr. John Millar, a
federally-funded national task force in 1997, former B.C. chief
coroner Vince Cain, assorted police chiefs, the Canadian Psychiatric
Association and the Canadian Addiction Research Foundation.

Even with that overwhelming level of support, Caplan deemed it too
"risky." Surrey-Central Reformer Gurmant Grewal then
disgraced the debate with fear-mongering, pandering rubbish about the
NDP wanting to give "free heroin for addicts."

After just 55 minutes, the motion was defeated. You can bet Manley's
hockey summit will last a whole lot longer.