CITY ABANDONS IT'S ADDICTS

On Monday, the City of Abbotsford turned its back on some of its most
vulnerable citizens when it banned harm reduction facilities.

City council members unanimously agreed on a zoning bylaw change that
would effectively prohibit methadone clinics, needle exchanges and
mobile services for addicts. While agencies can apply to open such
places, it's not likely this council will approve any application of
this kind.

The message is clear - hard core, hard-to-treat addicts, we don't want
you here. This city is giving up its responsibility for you, so you
might as well move along to Surrey or Chilliwack where they will
coddle you with needles and methadone.

In what some might call a breathtakingly arrogant move, council
members have risked the drug treatment services it hoped to press for
by enacting this change.

This will undoubtedly make relations with the Fraser Health Authority
awkward. It will be harder for addicts to get into treatment, and make
it more difficult for counsellors to help them.

It's also questionable whether this bylaw will be accepted by
Victoria. The Community Charter says that bylaw amendments that affect
public health must first have the approval of the health minister.

Abbotsford first introduced its harm reduction ban idea at the Lower
Mainland Municipal Association two years ago, hoping for solidarity
from other communities. Their idea was wholeheartedly rejected by the
members.

What is frightening is that in the last two years, council members did
not avail themselves of the reams of knowledge and research from
health experts. The council that vehemently opposed Sumas Energy 2,
waving pages of scientific reports to back them up, chose to ignore
science on this issue.

This is not what a responsible council does. They have a duty to
listen to all the evidence, and not just the stuff they wanted to hear.

Compare Abbotsford to Chilliwack, where a drug counselling centre that
also offers clean needles has existed for 12 years. City councillors,
RCMP officers, health professionals, pastors and other community
leaders sit on its board of directors. The difference is they kept
their minds open and got educated about the complexities of addiction.

Abbotsford did not consult local health professionals. Dr. Andrew
Larder, public health officer for Fraser East, found out about the
council's harm reduction bylaw change through the press. As far as he
is aware, the city did not contact key addictions experts in the
Fraser Health Authority. From all the people in Abbotsford who work in
addictions that I've spoken to, none were consulted - not Abbotsford
Addictions Services, not the folks who run Gemini Services, not the
region's treatment centres.

While those who oppose harm reduction measures will applaud this
council's move, this is not about those few people. This should be
about getting the most appropriate treatment for the people who really
need it. It looks like they won't be able to count on the Abbotsford
council for much compassion.

While Mayor Mary Reeves and her council say they are doing this for
the good of all residents, they have done the opposite. They've hurt
the entire community. They have angered the health authority and
likely the Health Ministry. They have further alienated mental health
and addictions professionals and members of the public who understand
the concepts of harm reductions. They have perpetuated the stigma that
haunts those with addictions.