PM DUCKS QUESTIONS AFTER HISTORIC B.C. ADDRESS

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 him addressing a provincial legislature after he untimely prorogued
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 (Insite) 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
places such as Insite. That would be 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 drug 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.

Addicts are sick people. Simply telling them to stop taking drugs is a
useless approach. Some will engage in criminal activity, such as
robbery, to find ways to pay for their drugs.

As well, 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
- - invites compounding the threat of an already potentially dangerous
situation.

Serious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C can result from dirty
needle use, and that threatens non-addicts (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 Insite'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 out-dated and
unworkable notion that simply cracking down on addicts and "forcing"
them to drop their habits is the best approach.

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

Holding power in a minority Parliament provides significant checks on
Harper's power to go 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.