Pubdate: Thu, 09 Apr 2015
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Robert Sibley
Page: A10

'IRRESPONSIBLE' TO IGNORE DRUG-SITE CRITICS: FEDS

The federal government would be irresponsible if it did not insist
that recently tabled legislation regarding drug injection sites
include provisions requiring community consultation, says a
Conservative cabinet minister.

"This is clearly a matter of public health and public safety, and I
think Canadians would expect the minister of health to listen
carefully to the municipal and community leaders in a jurisdiction
where an injection house is proposed," Pierre Poilievre, the Minister
of Employment and Social Development, said in an interview Wednesday.

"I think we need to take into account everybody's point of view ...
(and) it would be irresponsible to ignore the voices of the mayor, the
police chief and the local community if an application for a drug
injection house comes forward."

In Ottawa, both Mayor Jim Watson and Police Chief Charles Bourdeleau
have voiced concerns about setting up an injection site.

The minister's comments follow criticism this week by safe-injection
site proponents who say Bill C-2 makes it harder than ever to
establish such sites in Canadian cities.

"Should Bill C-2 become law, it will be extremely difficult to open a
supervised injection site anywhere in Canada, including in Ottawa,"
said Lisa Wright, an organizer with the Campaign for Safer Consumption
Sites, which has been campaigning for such a site in Ottawa.

Bill C-2, titled the Respect for Community Act, includes a requirement
that the federal health minister be supplied with demographic and
scientific data pertinent to the would-be site, letters from
representatives of local police and local and provincial governments,
information about the proposed staff, and a description of planned
procedures regarding the site's operation.

As well, the minister would receive a description of the potential
impact on public safety, including information, if any, on crime,
public nuisance and drug-related litter in the vicinity of the
proposed site. There is also a requirement for "scientific evidence
demonstrating that there is a medical benefit to individual or public
health."

In 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that former federal health
minister Tony Clement's decision in 2008 to shutter Insite, an
experimental injection site for drugaddicts in Vancouver approved by
the previous Liberal government, failed to take into account
obligations of fundamental justice set out in the Charter of Rights.
The court determined the federal government didn't produce sufficient
evidence to show the site's continued operation would be detrimental
to the health and safety of the wider community.

Injection sites proponents hailed the ruling as a de facto
legalization of such sites throughout the country and a constitutional
guarantee for the continuation of existing sites like that in Vancouver.

However, the Supreme Court was explicit in saying that while Clement
had erred in refusing Insite's exemption, it also said "granting a
permanent constitutional exemption would be inappropriate."

The federal government "should not be precluded from withdrawing an
exemption to Insite should changed circumstances at Insite so require."

Moreover, the ruling "does not fetter the minister's discretion with
respect to future applications for exemptions, whether for other
premises or for Insite. As always, the Minister must exercise that
discretion within the constraints imposed by the law and the Charter."

Poilievre, the MP for Nepean Carleton and the regional representative
in the Tory caucus, acknowledged the government has long opposed
injection sites but, at the same time, has to abide by the Supreme
Court's decision.
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