NO DATE IN SIGHT FOR SAFE INJECTIONS

Even if Health Canada approved a supervised injection site for Vancouver
today, it would take at least three months of renovations before the
service could open, says Mayor Larry Campbell.

Campbell said the city is ready to issue a building permit for renovations
to the proposed supervised injection site at 135/139 East Hastings St.,
currently leased by the Portland Hotel Society.

"It doesn't matter to us one way or another about what's going on in
Ottawa, quite frankly," the mayor told the Courier Tuesday. "We're
building, so when it comes through, we'll be ready."

Campbell said money for the renovations is expected to come from the
provincial government, but he didn't know the exact cost. Once the facility
is renovated, Campbell said he's confident the $1.7-million annual costs to
operate it will be found.

The 60-day period for Health Canada to decide whether Vancouver will get
approval for a supervised injection site passed today, but a decision isn't
expected until at least the end of the month.

Viviana Zanocco, spokesperson for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority,
said Health Canada has extended the deadline because the health authority
recently submitted an appendix to the initial proposal.

The 150-page document sets out the health authority's ethical and
scientific research underlying the proposal. It wasn't sent with the
initial proposal because it wasn't ready, and there was a possibility
Health Canada could approve the proposal, subject to a review of the
appendix, she said.

"It's been a very back-and-forth process-it's not like a bank loan where
you put all your stuff together and submit it," she said. "We have no
indication there are any issues with the submission. Whether it takes a few
more weeks, it's not a huge consequence to us."

Jirina Vlk, spokesperson for Health Canada in Ottawa, said she couldn't
comment on the proposal or give any indication when the government body
will make a final decision. Vlk would only say, "we're not there yet" and
referred inquiries to the health authority.

When it submitted its proposal in March, the health authority announced a
supervised injection site could be operational sometime this summer. With
the delay in a decision, and renovations expected to take three months,
it's unclear when a site will open.

During last year's election campaign, Campbell predicted an injection site
would be opened in early January. Since then, Campbell has been accused of
being a "liar" and "murderer" by drug activists for not following through
on his election promise.

While Campbell remains confident the health authority will obtain $1.7
million to operate an injection site, there are questions as to where the
several million dollars will come from to provide detox, housing,
counselling and other options for addicts wanting to quit drugs.

An illegal interim injection site and night-time drop-in centre for drug
users opened April 7 at 327 Carrall St. in response to a police crackdown
on drug dealing that public health experts fear may lead to increased
transmission of HIV, if addicts are driven underground.

The centre was established by the Harm Reduction Coalition to provide a
place where addicts can obtain sterile injecting equipment and inject under
the supervision of a nurse. So far, neither the police nor city hall has
made an effort to close it.