Pubdate: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2008 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 Author: Aaron Derfel, The Gazette Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Supervised Injection Sites) HEALTH MINISTER KNOCKS B.C. SAFE INJECTION SITE Federal Health Minister Tony Clement assailed the Canadian Medical Association yesterday for supporting Vancouver's supervised drug-injection site, arguing that allowing heroin addicts to shoot up is against a health professional's code of ethics. "I find the ethical considerations of supervised injections to be profoundly disturbing," Clem-ent said in a speech at the CMA's annual meeting in Montreal. "Is it ethical," he asked rhetorically, "for health-care professionals to support the distribution of drugs that are of unknown substance, or purity, or potency - drugs that cannot otherwise be legally prescribed?" Clement added that "the supervised injection site undercuts the ethics of medical practice and sets a debilitating example for all physicians and nurses, both present and future in Canada, who might begin to question whether it's all right to allow someone to overdose under their care." Clement did not go so far as to call for the closing of Insite, Canada's sole supervised drug-injection site, which was established in 2003 as a pilot project. However, he recommended that the centre's $3 million annual budget be redirected toward drug treatment and providing housing for Vancouver's east-side sex workers. Clement's remarks drew a heated response from a number of the delegates. Bonnie Cham, chair of the CMA's ethics committee, accused the minister of manipulating medical ethics to advance the Conservative government's political agenda. "IV drug users, like the rest of us, have the right to compassion and to access to care, which has been proven to be beneficial," Cham said. In a news conference after the speech, Brian Day, the CMA's outgoing president, said Clem-ent was "off base" in criticizing physicians' medical judgment on the issue. Day noted that internal polling by the CMA has found that nearly 80 per cent of doctors favour supervised injection sites, also known as harm-reduction facilities. In June, a B.C. Supreme Court judge said Insite could remain open indefinitely. The federal government is appealing the ruling. That same month, former Quebec health minister Philippe Couillard said the province is considering setting up a safe-injection facility in Montreal. Clement refused to comment on that possibility yesterday, saying it's purely hypothetical. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake