HARPER HIDING AGENDA ON SAFE INJECTION SITE

To the editor:

Re: "Two Tory contracts accepted for Insite," Oct. 10.

Thanks to reporter Mike Howell, Vancouver Courier readers know more
about the convoluted political game played by Mr. Stephen Harper's
government regarding the (still) impending decision on InSite.

Never mind the bungled research contracts were supposed to inform
federal opinion of a provincial project, operating without one cent
from Ottawa.

Or, that federal studies evaluating InSite have already cost the
public $1.5 million.

Or, that Harper's government said they would not fund further
research of InSite, right before beginning a process to fund further research.

Or, that 18 months after Harper delayed a decision on InSite's legal
status, the Tories have awarded less than half of the proposals requested.

What is most baffling is that the "questions" themselves have already
been answered ad nauseam. The extensive research data has long been
compiled for the public record in 24 academic papers, published in
the world's most renowned peer-reviewed medical journals.

What's next? Will Canadians soon be bidding on contracts to research
whether or not the earth is flat?

It is no wonder 134 top doctors and scientists across Canada signed
an article published in the scientific journal Open Medicine, warning
of the Harper government's tendency to ignore science over ideology.

To top it off, results of this "new" research will be classified as
the exclusive intellectual property of Stephen Harper.

If tax dollars are going to be spent on superfluous studies, perhaps
Canadians would be better served uncovering the secret of how Mr.
Harper is actually governing this country.

The question would be a simple one: what agenda is he hiding?

Nathan Allen, Organizer, InSite for Community Safety