SAFE INJECTION SITE'S FATE DEBATED ANEW

Despite An MP's Comments Last Week, Ottawa Says It Has Not Made Any Decisions

VANCOUVER -- The fate of Vancouver's safe injection site has not been
decided, despite contrary comments made last week, the federal
government said yesterday.

Concerns arose after Manitoba Conservative MP Steven Fletcher said
the federal government would let the trial project come to an end
before deciding whether to renew its legal exemption, which allows
heroin users to inject without penalty. The contract expires Sept. 12.

But a spokesman for federal Health Minister Tony Clement said the
statement was not accurate.

"We haven't made any decision with regards to allowing it to close
before making up our minds," Erik Waddell, Mr. Clement's press secretary, said.

"Mr. Fletcher was speaking of his own accord, he wasn't speaking as a
spokesperson for the minister on the issue," he added.

While in Vancouver last week, Mr. Fletcher told news media: "We'll
let the project finish and then we'll make a decision." He was not
available for further comment yesterday.

His statement jolted supporters of the site, known as Insite, which
is the first in North America and which accommodates more than 600
drug users every day.

"You have to substantiate sort of off-the-cuff remarks, as this was,"
said Gillian Maxwell, a spokeswoman for Insite For Community Safety.

The assurance from Health Canada that such a plan had not been made,
and a recent statement of support from federal cabinet minister David
Emerson, the MP for Vancouver Kingsway, are hopeful signs, Ms.
Maxwell said, "so my nerves calmed."

Still, "we can't celebrate until we see the signature on the
exemption and it's not there yet," she added.

"We're just assessing the research that's been done to date," Mr.
Waddell said of the federal government's position.

Recently, a study into the site's work found that not a single death
resulted from 336 drug overdoses during an 18-month period.