NEEDLE EXCHANGE SPARKS HOT WORDS AT ESQUIMALT-JUAN DE FUCA TOWN HALL

Desouza At Odds With Other Candidates Over Best Approach To Drug Addiction

It didn't take long for the debate to heat up between Esquimalt-Juan
de Fuca federal election candidates in a town hall forum last night in
which more than 300 people packed into Isabelle Reader Theatre and
spilled out into the hallway.

Incumbent Keith Martin of the Liberal party, NDP candidate Jennifer
Burgis, Conservative Troy DeSouza and Brian Gordon of the Green party
each gave two-minute presentations outlining their platforms before
lining up for a battery of questions from the audience.

The majority of questions were fired at the Liberal and Conservative
candidates.

Martin has been an MP since 1993; he narrowly won re-election in
2006.

He was a former Reformer/Conservative who left the party to sit as an
Independent and was re-elected as a Liberal. Issues of the economy,
climate change, the arts, health care, the region's growth and
transportation -- the desire for a McKenzie Avenue/Admirals Road
overpass and an upgraded E&N commuter train -- were all served up for
debate.

However, the most contentious issues of the early evening were about
drug use in the south Island, sewage treatment, food safety and carbon
taxes. Martin talked of his support for safe-injection sites, narcotic
substitution projects, one-stop easy access to health-care for
low-income people at risk and affordable housing as answers for people
who are often suffering from psychiatric and addiction problems.

"They should not be in jail," said Martin, a physician, criticizing
the Conservative government's tough on crime attitude toward illicit
drugs.

Gordon agreed that the $40,000 a year spent to keep a drug user in
jail -- where they will only learn worse behaviours -- would be better
spent on giving those addicts treatment services.

Burgis also supported harm reduction and pushed the need for the
federal government to better fund detox services to help those who are
addicted such as "young people who get hooked on crystal meth."

However DeSouza came out strong against the pack saying: "You do not
give an alcoholic a bottle of booze."

The Conservative candidate agreed with more detox and treatment
services but said a safe-injection site would only spread the same
problems that have been experienced by downtown Victoria's needle
exchange. "It would be that much worse on a tenfold level," DeSouza
said.

Martin outlined his priorities as health care, affordable housing and
access to resources for projects such as light rapid transit and the
E&N train, as well as storm drain upgrades to prevent toxins from
reaching waterways.

DeSouza promised to deliver a McKenzie/Admirals Road overpass to fight
the Colwood Crawl traffic, and to fight for more shipbuilding and
high-tech jobs.

Burgis stressed the economy, transit, climate change and the
affordability of such things as child and senior care, education, and
health care as the most important issues.

Gordon emphasized the need for a holistic vision to solve all of the
country's problems at once. He focused on the need for a green
economy, food security and clean transportation as main issues.

Also running for office to represent Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca are
Independent Philip Ney, and the Canadian Action Party's Brad Rhodes.
The town hall meeting was limited to the parties which receive federal
election funding in Western Canada.

The forum was sponsored by the Times Colonist and CHEK News. It was
moderated by Dave Obee, Times Colonist editorial page editor, and Mary
Griffin of CHEK News.