VANCOUVER PLANS SAFE INJECTION SITE

Parliamentary Committee Report Bolsters Proposal For Facilities Set to Open
Next Year

VANCOUVER -- Vancouver is moving ahead with plans to open Canada's first
supervised injection site for drug addicts early next year, bolstered by a
new parliamentary committee report that echoes the city's approach to the
drug problem.

Vancouver is "way out front," Mayor Larry Campbell told reporters yesterday
at city hall.

"We have a huge mandate to get going with this project."

The parliamentary committee recommended that Ottawa remove federal
regulatory and legislative barriers to scientific trials and pilot projects
for supervised injection sites. The committee also urged the federal
government to encourage development of protocols to determine effectiveness
of the facilities in reducing social and health problems.

But Vancouver was not waiting for the committee report. The city's public
health authority is expected to submit an application to Health Canada in a
few weeks for approval of a safe injection site. Health Minister Anne
McLellan has indicated Ottawa will respond to Vancouver's proposal within
60 days.

Supervised injection centres for drug addicts are intended to reduce the
harm caused when drugs such as heroin are injected in unsanitary
conditions. The centres are also expected to help people break their
addiction by bringing them into contact with health-care workers.

Supporters say the centres, in conjunction with a needle exchange program,
will reduce the number of drug overdoses and the spread of disease.

Mr. Campbell, who won a landslide victory in the municipal election last
month, mostly on his position on the drug problem, commended the special
parliamentary committee for following Vancouver's lead.

Although Vancouver has attracted international attention for its drug
problem, drug addiction is an issue in several Canadian cities, he said.

The committee report is valuable for proposals that go beyond Vancouver's
"basic how-to," dealing with issues such as fetal alcohol syndrome and
appointment of a national drug commissioner, he said.

Despite the city's support for the injection sites, BC MP Randy White, a
Canadian Alliance member on the committee, was critical yesterday of the
proposals.

Mr. White said he opposes supervised injection sites because they do not
get addicts off drugs.

The goal of government action should be abstinence, and until other options
such as detoxification, stronger enforcement and rehabilitation are
exhausted, injection sites should not be opened, he said.

"I call it harm extension, not harm reduction," Mr. White said.