INSITE'S FATE LIES WITH HIGHEST COURT

If anything good comes out of the legal marathon that is the federal
government's fight to close Vancouver's supervised drug injection
site, it's that Canada's top court will likely rule once and for all
that harm reduction and the protection of our most marginalized
citizens should trump Conservative ideological intransigence.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear an
appeal of a B.C. Supreme Court ruling that allowed Insite to continue
operating.

The federal government has long argued that the clinic, which in 2009
averaged 702 visits a day, is nothing more than a taxpayer-funded drug
den. The province maintains the feds have no jurisdiction over how it
spends its health-care dollars. Advocates say Insite saves lives,
helps prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS, and saves the health-care
system money in the long run by preventing accidental overdoses and
exposing addicts to potentially life-saving treatment programs.

Indeed, dozens of studies have supported the idea that Insite, which
is operated by Vancouver Coastal Health, benefits the community by
moving drug addicts off the streets into a controlled environment
while at the same time connecting them to health-care options they
might not otherwise know or even care about.

Sadly, the Tories and Stephen Harper don't see it that way, and chose
instead to stick to a "just-say-no" Bush-era anti-drug dogma that has
proven to be ineffective over generations of drug users.

When the B.C. Court of Appeal rejected the federal government's
attempt to shut it down last January, supporters of Insite took to the
streets in celebration, with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson wishing
out loud that Ottawa would get its nose out of B.C.'s business.

"With this second consecutive decision in favour of Insite, I hope the
federal government will drop its legal efforts so that we can go back
to focusing on Insite for what it is - a harm-reduction facility that
saves lives and improves health outcomes for those living with
addictions," Robertson said in a statement released to reporters at
the time.

Said Dr. Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society: "It
sends a very clear message to Stephen Harper and his draconian policies."

Obviously Harper and crew weren't listening, and now it will be up to
the Supreme Court of Canada to make a decision that will seal Insite's
fate.

Ultimately, the top court won't rule on whether Insite is effective,
or that addicts, like any other Canadians, deserve all the protection
society can provide. It will likely rule that when it comes to
providing health-care services, provincial governments have the final
say on how taxpayer dollars are spent. That's an argument the province
has won before and one it will likely win again.