DON'T BLAME BRAESIDE FOR BEING HEARTLESS WHEN IT COMES TO DRUG ADDICTS
- -- FOCUS YOUR CONTEMPT ON CITY HALL

Home is where there heart is -- but until Calgarians spoke out,
officials at a much-maligned methadone clinic say they weren't sure
this city even had one.

One week after officials at Second Chance Recovery said they were
leaving cold-souled Calgarians to suffer their own selfish fate,
they've suddenly changed their minds.

And so, the methadone clinic stays.

It won't stay in Braeside, the southwest neighbourhood blamed for
bullying the clinic almost out of business, but it will remain there
until a new home is found.

Dr. Ian Postnikoff, head physician at the clinic, said the remarkable
reaction of caring Calgarians convinced the clinic to remain open,
until a new home inside the city can be found.

"There was an outpouring of positive support from the community at
large -- it's gone all the way up to the CEO of Alberta Health
Services, who is taking an active role in finding us a more suitable
permanent location," said Postnikoff.

"In the interim we're staying open in Braeside until we find that
location, and we're just hoping the citizens of Braeside show some
tolerance and patience while we transfer."

Once again, Braeside gets a shot in the nose for reacting the same way
as any other community in Calgary, when faced with a clinic catering
to 500 drug addicts.

That's the most pathetic piece of this whole sorry tale: That a
community has been vilified because Calgary's city council has shown
no leadership on the methadone issue.

Ever since Second Chance announced they were quitting Calgary because
of vague vandalism threats at a boisterous town hall meeting, Braeside
has been slammed as a bastion of Calgary intolerance.

But Braeside only ended up with the clinic because our ward aldermen
are too self-serving to pass a city-wide policy for drug addicts, one
that would allow methadone clinics in industrial areas.

Ald. Brian Pincott will try to get that rule changed at a council
meeting this month -- that it's taken so long for council to act is
outrageous.

Braeside should never have been put in this position.

The fact is, a methadone clinic does affect property values.

Residents can't be blamed for wanting to protect their largest
investment.

You'd think Braeside was the first community to take exception to an
unwanted neighbour, and that similar Not-In-My-Backyard protests in
dozens of other 'hoods, over homeless shelters and halfway homes,
never really happened.

The hypocrisy is revolting -- it's easy to chastise others, when your
own home is safe.

It's just a shame Second Chance continues to lash out at Braeside,
when it's Calgary city council deserving their abuse.

What exactly have aldermen been doing to deal with this hot potato
over the past four years, ever since the methadone controversy arose?

An easy answer: Nothing.

That Second Chance was driven from three other communities before
trying Braeside seems forgotten -- Braeside was the final straw, and
so it takes all the blame.

Non-Braeside residents, meanwhile, get to play big-hearted Samaritan,
pleading with the clinic to stay open, convincing officials at Second
Chance we're not all bad.

"We were very surprised and very gratified over the very positive
support," said Postnikoff.

"Because of that we've made the decision to try and find a more a
suitable location."

There's no question Calgary needs a methadone treatment program, and
Second Chance's decision to stay is great news for a city where
addiction is a harsh reality.

But officials at the clinic need to redirect their anger at the target
truly deserving of their contempt -- the elected few who failed to
solve the issue.

Calgary needs methadone, and there are plenty of commercial and
industrial zones where addicts might get help, far away from homes.

All it takes is a city council willing to rework a few rules, and
Second Chance will have a clinic that's easily accessible, and
acceptable to all.

Second Chance is overwhelmed to discover Calgary has a heart after all
- -- but the truth is, Calgary always did.

A city council with the heart to solve this issue?

That's another question.