SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR CASE FOR LEAVING INSITE CENTRE OPEN

Canada's top court will hear arguments Thursday about whether a safe
drug-injection site in Vancouver's poorest neighbourhood should be
legally allowed to stay open under B.C.'s jurisdiction.

At issue before the Supreme Court of Canada is which government -
federal or provincial - has power over Insite and whether shutting it
down infringes on the human rights of drug users.

The site, co-managed by the Portland Hotel Society (PHS) and
Vancouver's health authority, allows drug addicts clean, safe space
and equipment to inject their own street drugs under medical staff
supervision and has operated under federal drug-law exemptions for
several years.

Recently, the federal Conservative government ended those exemptions
and has been keen to close the facility.

PHS director Mark Townsend said Sunday he thought the evidence
showing the site has saved lives and money should have been enough to
convince Conservatives to cool their tough on crime agenda in Insite's case.

"It's easy to attack drug users," Townsend said. "This shouldn't be a
political thing, it's a public-health thing."

As part of a lengthy legal battle between B.C. and the federal
Conservative government, provincial courts decided in 2010 that
Insite fell within provincial control under health care, preventing
federal officials from shutting it down.

Ottawa appealed that decision, arguing provincial courts were
"unjustified" in allowing provincial health interests to overrule
federal drug laws.

The province and its 13 supporters, including PHS, the B.C. Civil
Liberties Association and the Canadian Medical Association, argue
that criminal law enforcement efforts are not undermined by Insite's
operation. It also says Canada lacks any evidence to support its
position, adding Insite hasn't had a negative impact on federal
efforts to control narcotics.