INSITE PARTIES FOR ITS RIGHT TO FIGHT STEPHEN HARPER

A free concert scheduled for Saturday (December 6) in Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside could turn into a celebration of the looming demise
of the Conservative government.

Two popular bands, Toronto-based Bedouin Soundclash and
Vancouver-based Black Mountain, have agreed to perform at a street
party and barbecue organized by the PHS Community Services Society.
PHS operates one supervised-injection site called Insite on Hastings
Street and has developed a preliminary plan for a second facility in
the Downtown Eastside.

PHS cofounder Mark Townsend told the Georgia Straight that the music
will begin at 4:30 p.m. near the corner of Hastings and Main streets.
He said there will also be jugglers, stilt walkers, and possibly a
fire-eating member of the PHS board on hand to provide entertainment.
The street party is being held to send a message to Prime Minister
Stephen Harper that the community backs Insite. (Shortly after the
Straight went to press on December 3, Harper was scheduled to give a
nationwide television address.)

On October 23, Bedouin Soundclash was going to perform a free concert
in support of Insite and to celebrate its fifth anniversary, but
police shut down the event because nobody had obtained a permit from
the city. "We've got a permit now," Townsend said, adding that he
hopes politicians will be on hand to speak to the crowd.

However, with all the political turmoil in Ottawa, he acknowledged
that some might not be available. "I know Libby Davies has been a
giant champion of this, and so has Hedy Fry," Townsend said, citing
the NDP MP for Vancouver East and the Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre,
respectively.

On December 8, the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois hope to defeat
the Harper government in a nonconfidence motion, which could set the
stage for a new Liberal-led coalition government that would include
six NDP cabinet ministers. Townsend said he is pleased by this
prospect because PHS and other community members have been involved in
a legal battle with the Harper government to keep Insite open. He said
that NDP, Liberal, and Bloc MPs support supervised-injection
facilities. Harper's government opposes Insite, which is a partnership
of PHS and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

"It's a lot of time and effort fighting one person's arrogance,"
Townsend said.

Last May, B.C. Supreme Court justice Ian Pitfield granted Insite an
exemption from Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act,
preventing the Harper government from shutting it down for having
illegal narcotics on the premises. Pitfield ruled that if two sections
of the law regarding possession and trafficking of illegal drugs were
applied to addicts at Insite and the staff who deal with them, it
would violate their constitutional rights.

"Instead of being rationally connected to a reasonable apprehension of
harm, the blanket prohibition contributes to the very harm it seeks to
prevent," Pitfield wrote in his decision. "It is inconsistent with the
state's interest in fostering individual and community health, and
preventing death and disease."

The Harper government will try to overturn that ruling in the B.C.
Court of Appeal next month. Townsend said that the government's legal
moves have drained a lot of the staff's energy. "We do need to find
some money to give to our lawyers," he said.

Townsend noted that Insite is operating at full capacity, overseeing
600 to 800 injections per day. He added that there is sufficient
demand for at least two more supervised-injection facilities in the
Downtown Eastside. He also revealed that PHS intends to open a new
site in the area. "An architect has done up plans," Townsend said.
"We've got them to a state where we can submit for a development permit."

However, he emphasized there is no agreement in place yet with the
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, in part because of the legal
uncertainty created by the Harper government's appeal. "They're in the
same position as us," he said.

Townsend refused to reveal any locations being considered for a new
supervised-injection site, but he noted that a new facility could
provide space for people who consume illegal drugs other than heroin.
He said that could involve a "smoking room", which would mark the
first time that addicts could smoke crack in Vancouver without fear of
being arrested.

In response to the growing use of crack in the Downtown Eastside in
recent years, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users has been
advocating for safe-inhalation rooms. So far, no regional health
authority has approved funding for indoor facilities where people can
smoke crack, which is illegal under the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act.