SAFE INJECTION SITES NOT ON

A poll that suggests half of the Lower Mainland population outside
Vancouver favours safe injection sites for drug addicts is not a fair
reflection of local opinion, according to Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum.

The poll - conducted by a regional daily newspaper and market research
company Ipsos-Reid - concludes that 50 per cent of those questioned
either strongly support or somewhat support introducing the sites into
local communities.

However, McCallum says the position in Surrey is much more
clear-cut.

"I would suspect there is an overwhelming (public) objection to that
type of concept," he said.

"We won't be having any safe injection sites in Surrey. We (council)
have said that many times in the past and we certainly haven't changed
our minds."

Meanwhile, a number of the region's mayors are split on the need to
introduce safe injection sites - areas that legally allow drug users
to shoot up - and other anti-drug addiction initiatives into the Lower
Mainland.

Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell has vowed to introduce a safe injection
site to Vancouver before March 1, but has indicated other
municipalities should take responsibility by treating drug addicts in
their own communities.

The theory behind the injection sites is that by using clean needles
in a supervised environment, addicts are less likely to suffer health
problems. The centres are also a first-step to detox, pulling addicts
off the streets and away from dealers, and gving them access to nurses
and counsellors.

But while the mayors of Burnaby and Delta point to a lack of demand to
justify programs outside Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Coquitlam
Mayor Jon Kingsbury claims the drug addiction problem is just as
severe on the city's outskirts.

"If people do not think it is a big problem in the suburbs, then they
are not very well informed," he said.

"They perhaps just haven't been exposed to the problems. It's in
Delta, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam - everywhere. It's no less of a
problem in the suburbs, it just doesn't get the same publicity."

Kingsbury's comments go against the views of Delta Mayor Lois Jackson
and Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, who both believe the idea to expand
the injection program outside Vancouver is a non-starter.

They say there is no demand as the majority of drug addicts in their
communities have already moved to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. They
also doubt whether addicts will be willing to relocate into different
parts of the Lower Mainland.

Jackson - a member of the city's police board - said to her
knowledge, nobody had been taken off the streets in Delta for
injecting drugs. She says Lower Mainland sites will not work, as
addicts tend to stick together and base themselves in one area. She
believes it "unlikely " they will shift from the east side of Vancouver.

Jackson also said she could not support a "transfer of health dollars"
that could occur from funding injection facilities, pointing to
planned service cuts in Delta Hospital's emergency room.

"There is only so much money to go around. As much as my heart goes
out to them (drug addicts), we can't be all things to all people. They
also have to take the initiative themselves," she said.

Corrigan said the issue of safe-injection sites has not been discussed
at council, mainly because there is "not a significant problem" with
hard drug users in Burnaby. McCallum points to a proposed drug
recovery centre planned alongside Surrey Memorial Hospital, and said
that type of project - focusing on treatment - should be the type of
initiative supported in Surrey.

The $4-million project has been proposed by the Phoenix Society - a
local drug and alcohol recovery service - which hopes to gain funding
through the private sector, the Fraser Health Authority, and the
provincial and federal governments.

Despite supporting the initiative, McCallum said the municipality will
not be a major financial contributor.

"The city does not have any funding for that ... the city might be
able to help in a small way, but it would be a combination of federal
and provincial money," he added.

On Dec. 9, Surrey council gave preliminary approval to a $20,000
proposal from the Phoenix Society to help fund the first stage of the
project. The same proposal identified a future request of $500,000 to
be made to council.

The Fraser Health Authority - which controls the province's
$13-million addictions budget - has not yet confirmed whether it will
help finance the facility.

As well as finding an even split of people for and against Lower
Mainland injection areas, the poll found that if a decision were made
to introduce the sites, 40 per cent of people would be in favour of
multiple sites across the region, 19 per cent would support a single
site in in the Downtown Eastside, 13 per cent would support multiple
sites in the Downtown Eastside and 10 per cent would support multiple
sites in and around the City of Vancouver.

The poll, conducted between Dec. 2 and 9, questioned 800 B.C. adults.
Organizers say the results are plus or minus 3.5 per cent of what
could be expected from the whole B.C. population being polled.