CRACK PIPE PROGRAM ANGERS OTTAWA MAYOR

OTTAWA (CNS) - Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien isn't happy that a local
crack pipe distribution program was revived by the provincial
government last month, so he has written a letter to Municipal
Affairs and Housing Minister Jim Watson, demanding an explanation.

O'Brien's letter to Watson asks why the government supports the
program that provides drug users with clean crack pipes, which city
councillors voted to discontinue last summer.

The controversial program is designed to limit the spread of
communicable diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C, by way of reducing
the sharing of pipes among drug users.

In his letter to Watson, O'Brien expresses his "disappointment" with
the way the Liberal government has chosen to wade into the city's affairs.

Though the province did inform the Somerset West Community Health
Centre, who applied for the funding, O'Brien said city officials were
not consulted.

"I wanted to express my disappointment with your government's
decision after Ottawa City Council overwhelmingly decided last July
to cancel this program," he writes in the letter, which was faxed to
Watson on Friday. "Most distressing to me is that it appears this
decision was taken without consultation with council or staff of the
City of Ottawa."

O'Brien closes his letter with mention of his desire to find "common
ground" with Watson's government and its position on the crack pipe program.