FEDS TO DECIDE INSITE'S FATE PRIOR TO EXPIRY DATE

The Conservative government will make an announcement on the future of the
city's supervised injection site before its legal operating licence expires
Sept. 12.

But Erik Waddell, press secretary to Health Minister Tony Clement, told the
Courier Wednesday he didn't know when a decision will be made.

"You can anticipate it before the expiry date," said Waddell, answering for
Clement who is in meetings all week.

Waddell said the government is doing an "assessment" of Insite at 139 East
Hastings. Asked to elaborate, Waddell said he would gather information and
call back, but he didn't do so before yesterday's press deadline.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on a recent trip to Vancouver he would
consult the RCMP before deciding the fate of Insite.

The Courier obtained two documents commissioned by the RCMP's drug branch
in Ottawa. They were authored by criminologists Raymond Corrado of Simon
Fraser University and Irwin Cohen of University College of the Fraser Valley.

Both documents are reviews of evaluations and literature published on
Insite, which opened in September 2003 as a three-year experiment.

Corrado and Cohen concluded that, generally, the outcomes of the facility
are positive. Neither men are medical doctors nor are believed to have
visited Insite.

"The evaluation of Insite did not specifically include research from the
perspective of the police on the relationship between the supervised
injection site, public order and safety, acquisitive crimes and reductions
in the open drug scene," Corrado wrote. "Despite these concerns, generally,
the Insite pilot project and its rigorous evaluation are very promising in
understanding the impact of supervised injection sites on the extreme
problems associated with drug injection use."

Cohen acknowledged a wide range of professionals, politicians and
communities support the injection site. However, he said there is
insufficient empirical evidence to conclude injection sites are capable of
achieving "their stated objectives, while minimizing the potential risks
opponents contend are produced by this service."

Added Cohen: "It must be pointed out that there is also insufficient
research to conclude that the arguments raised by opponents of supervised
injection sites are justified."

The Courier left messages Tuesday and Wednesday with the B.C. RCMP's
headquarters as to why the reports were necessary and how much they cost.

Health Canada spent $1.5 million on the research component of Insite, which
included evaluations by the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Gillian Maxwell, spokesperson for a local campaign called Insite for
Community Safety, said she was encouraged by Waddell's news that an
announcement will be made before Insite's expiry date.

Maxwell said the campaign has collected more than 2,000 letters from
various people, including politicians, Police Chief Jamie Graham and drug
users. The letters have been sent to the prime minister's office. "It's a
health matter, the important thing is to review the extensive and thorough
research that has been done on that site for the last three years," said
Maxwell, noting 20 peer reviews have been published internationally.

Insite is the only legal injection site in North America.