'NOT MY JOB' NOT GOOD ENOUGH

When word got out through the media about a potential new needle
exchange on Princess Avenue, a funny thing happened. All the voices of
the activists for harm-reduction services got drowned out by a handful
of neighbours.

Their outcry totally dominated public discussion. Over and over
through the media, they asked: How could the health authority break
its promise by considering a site so close to schools and families?

But where was the other side of the argument? Where were the
demonstrators who marched in the street on the anniversary of the
closure of the Cormorant Street needle exchange? Where was the mayor?
Where was the police chief?

While the Princess proposal had its merits and drawbacks, the silence
from community leaders let emotion take over.

The Vancouver Island Health Authority quickly abandoned the idea
before it got a chance to be thoroughly vetted.

City council has for years been supportive of harm-reduction services,
but it's not council's job to run them.

This was Mayor Dean Fortin's message, loud and clear, after a
passionate public meeting on the topic: the city isn't in a position
to fund health services.

The city also isn't responsible for setting health policy. That's the
job of the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

People upset by the status quo shouldn't be screaming at their
councillors, added Coun. Lynn Hunter.

Well, fair enough.

It's not council's job. But neither is it council's job to take a lead
on affordable and supportive housing.

That's the line we heard often from previous mayors - but not this
one.

We can't wait around for the province. That seems to be the new
guiding philosophy at city hall. And it seems to be working.

With the support of his councillors, Fortin has made a significant
contribution to getting people off the streets.

This includes more than just a handful of housing projects, ranging
from below-market downtown condos to complexes designed to house and
support those coming off the streets. The cost to municipal property
taxpayers is around $2 million, but the payoff is much greater.

By taking the lead, the city secured much greater contributions from
higher levels of government.

The lesson: municipal leadership gets results.

If applied to a fixed needle exchange, I bet progress would be just as
swift.

That's not to say the city should have necessarily given the Princess
Avenue proposal a green light.

The neighbours had good reason to be fearful. They'd been given no
concrete reasons to believe the new fixed site would be better than
the last failed experiment. If approved, the facility would have been
the only gig in town, promising the same honey-pot effect as the one
on Cormorant Street.

The landscape, however, is changing.

Within the next three months, the health authority will roll out
needle-exchange service in most of its health facilities.

This distribution model isn't the whole solution, but it's a step in
the right direction.

The next step is opening a permanent facility dedicated to drug users,
offering needle exchange and other related supports.

Because it won't be the only place in town to get a clean needle, the
stress to the host community will be lessened.

The science is clear that such a facility is needed.

VIHA, however, has backed right down from its promises to deliver
it.

Now, we just need a strong advocate to put the pressure
on.

Mayor Fortin? Police Chief Jamie Graham?