TORIES ARE NOT INSITE-FUL

Vancouver drug users are dying and our government is more preoccupied
with cleaning the blood off the streets than trying to save their lives.

Insite is North America's first legal supervised injection site.
Located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, it is also one of the
most debated topics in Canada.

The idea of a legal facility welcoming drug users to come in and
inject their poison is mind-blowing to so many people, more
specifically the federal government.

I get it.

The thought of people who are addicted to heroin being supervised by
medical staff while they get their fix is an intense visual.

But people need to move on from the shock, and take into account the
positive changes that Insite is trying to make.

Federal Health Minister Tony Clement has questioned the ethics of
Insite and was quoted in an article saying that treatment "is a
better alternative for injection drug users."

While Clement questions the ethics behind Insite, we should question
the ethics behind closing down a facility making a substantial impact
on the severe drug issue in the Downtown Eastside.

The staff at Insite is not only trained to help supervise safe drug
injections, they also offer support and guidance to the thousands of
visitors who walk through their doors every week.

The Conservatives do not seem to think the milestones Insite has made
are significant.

But I think it is irresponsible to ignore them.

For example, there have been 696 overdoses that haven't resulted in
fatalities because medical professionals were around to intercede.

It is a shame how our federal government looks at a statistic like
this and only pays attention to the word "overdose," and not to the
amount of lives saved.

The Tories' refusal to truly look at Insite for all it is validates
the accusation that they are simply trying to brush Vancouver's drug
issue under the rug.

Harper comes across as wanting to clean house so the city looks its
best for the 2010 Olympics, but the reality is people are suffering
and need help.

This problem is way too big to just cover up.