TORIES CAUSE NEEDLE-LESS SUFFERING

Prime Minister Stephen Harper dropped by the provincial legislature
last week for a feel-good speech about B.C. and the Winter Olympics,
but he didn't stop to take any questions from anyone.

That's too bad, as his aversion to having anything to do with the
media (other than an occasional wave to the television cameras) means
he's able to duck some pressing issues.

I certainly had a question or two of my own. I wasn't planning to
spend gobs of time talking about the irony (or, some say, hypocrisy)
of addressing a provincial legislature after the untimely proroguation
of his own federal house.

And I wasn't particularly interested in grilling him over his
government's economic plan, its problems in Afghanistan or even
potential election timing.

But I did have a question or two about one of his government's dumbest
moves in recent days that have a direct bearing on this province. That
would be the Conservative government's decision to appeal to the
Supreme Court of Canada a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside safe injection site is a legal operation and should
be allowed to remain open.

Harper has already lost two key court challenges on this. In trying
yet again to get the courts to follow his ideologically based
prejudice, critics say he has abandoned common sense, strong legal
analysis and sound public policy.

There is no question Insite is a controversial facility. The idea that
governments and the health-care system implicitly inject themselves
into an illegal activity -- consumption of banned drugs -- strikes
many as wrong.

But those who oppose the existence of Insite -- where addicts are
given a secure place to take drugs, such as heroin, with sterile
needles -- conveniently ignore a larger truth that underscores the
need for such places: the fact that our whole approach to illegal
drugs -- the so-called War on Drugs -- has been a complete, abject
failure.

To stick to the conventional method of dealing with addiction (i.e.
prosecute addicts and do everything possible to deny them access to
drugs) is a head-in-the-sand approach that is not only wrong but also
dangerous.

Drug addiction is an illness and a medical condition. If not treated
as such -- at the very least, ensuring addicts access to safe
conditions when it comes to consuming the drugs their bodies now need
- -- risks compounding the threat of an already dangerous situation.

Serious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C can result from dirty
needle use, and that threatens addicts and non-addicts alike (to say
nothing of the fact that it adds even more costs to our already
too-expensive health care system).

Renowned medical experts such as Dr. Gabor Mate (a staff physician at
Insite), the province's chief medical health officer Dr. Perry Kendall
and many others all agree that, from a medical and health standpoint,
Insite makes complete sense.

Even the B.C. Liberal government, a supposedly right-wing regime,
supports the facility's continued existence.

These positions are all rooted in evidence-based analysis. For
example, the number of drug overdose deaths has declined remarkably,
and so has drug-related crime in Insite's neighbourhood.

Yet the Harper government continues to cling to the outdated and
unworkable notion that simply cracking down on addicts and forcing
them to drop their habits is the best the approach.

This is an example of the ideological extremism that critics of his
government fear will come with increased regularity should it ever
hold a majority position in government.

A minority parliament provides significant checks on Harper's power,
preventing his going too far in any particular position.

He must pick his way carefully.

Will we see other ideology-based changes to health policy should the
Tories ever win a majority?

Why cling to the failed policies of the past?

Why not shed your ideological blinkers and embrace a proven success
story such as Insite?

All good questions, and all ones I would love to have posed to him
when he was in Victoria. But he simply wasn't interested in talking to
anyone.