METH PLAN CONDEMNED

The three leading candidates in the Vancouver mayoralty race have condemned
Surrey's plan to hike fees for methadone dispensaries by 5,000 per cent,
warning the move will drive addicts out of Surrey into Vancouver, adding to
that city's drug crisis and crime rate.

Larry Campbell, Jennifer Clarke and Valerie MacLean all took swipes at
Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum and the proposed fee hike during a Wednesday
night candidate's forum in Vancouver's Kerrisdale neighbourhood organized
by "From Grief to Action," a support group for parents and sibling of addicts.

The estimated crowd of 200 people applauded Campbell when he promised he
would take on McCallum.

"I think he (McCallum) should be punished for this -- maybe we won't give
him any more buses," Campbell said.

McCallum said Thursday that he had heard about the criticism and would only
say that "council, almost unanimously, have a very different approach than
Vancouver -- that's fair enough, we're going to get a lot tougher."

He said he wouldn't respond, saying "I don't want to get into an argument
with them, that's not my style."

Vancouver's three rivals for the top job were adamant about doing
something, but differed on what should be done.

Jennifer Clarke dismissed the Campbell comment as a "cowboy" move, telling
him "you don't have the ability to remove Doug McCallum's buses, so let's
get practical about the thing."

Clarke said she would lobby the provincial government to pressure Surrey
into dropping the fee hike.

McLean also condemned the Surrey approach as wrong-headed, saying the city
should be treating addicts where they live, rather than dumping them on
Vancouver.

The president of From Grief to Action, Nichola Hall, also slammed the
Surrey plan and McCallum, saying, "the mayor obviously has absolutely no
understanding of addiction."

Hall, a university administrator says study after study and her own
personal experience shows that the Surrey approach of making methadone
harder to get will only encourage crime.

"I have two sons who are on methadone and they were both on the street
committing crimes before they went on methadone. Now, they're both working
and getting their lives together."

Hall complained Surrey is attempting to use Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
as a dumping ground for its own addict population.

Surrey council recently endorsed a corporate report recommending methadone
dispensaries pay $10,000 per year to conduct business in Surrey, up from
the current fee of $195.