Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jul 2015
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Kristy Kirkup
Page: A5

EX-MAYOR ENDORSES MONTREAL SITES PLAN

Evidence in the World Supports What Coderre Is Trying to Do

OTTAWA - A former, longtime mayor of Vancouver urges Montreal Mayor 
Denis Coderre not to back away from his showdown with the feds over 
that city's bid to open four drug-injection sites by the fall - a 
timeline that coincides with the onset of the federal election campaign.

Philip Owen, who became a strong advocate for the Insite program 
during his nine-year term as Vancouver's mayor, says there is "no 
doubt the evidence in the world supports what (Coderre) is trying to 
do" and what Vancouver was successful in doing.

Owen said Montreal is going to face a fierce battle with the federal 
government, but Coderre should "just keep pushing ahead."

"We looked at this whole issue and decided, quite simply, that the 
user is sick and the dealer is evil, so put the user in the health 
care system," Owen said, pointing out injection sites are part of 
public health measures all over Europe.

The continuing debate over drug-injection sites in Canada is gaining 
momentum this summer as a high-profile deadline looms for the feds.

Montreal has given the federal government until the end of the summer 
to respond to the city's request for legal approval for three fixed 
sites and a mobile unit.

But Coderre has already slammed the process as a "formality" and vows 
to proceed with or without the federal green light.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose is using the spat with Montreal to take 
aim at Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who once served with Coderre in 
the Commons when Montreal's mayor was a Grit MP.

"Our government will make sure that residents of Montreal get a say 
when injection houses want to open, in keeping with the Supreme 
Court's ruling," Ambrose said in a statement.

"We oppose and are deeply concerned with Justin Trudeau's pledge to 
open drug injection houses in communities across Canada."

In a 2011 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Vancouver's 
Insite saved lives and improved health without increasing drug use 
and crime in the surrounding area.

The court also said the government should "generally grant an 
exemption" required to legally operate a supervised injection site if 
the evidence indicates it will decrease the risk of death and disease 
and it will have little impact on public safety.

The Conservative government then passed the Respect for Communities 
Act, which establishes 26 criteria for the government to consider 
when reviewing an application.

Several health groups, including the Canadian Nurses Association, 
argued the new law is designed to block the creation of supervised 
injection sites.

Health Canada said it would be up to law enforcement, in charge of 
investigating contraventions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances 
Act, to address sites that proceed without a legal exemption.

Dr. Mark Tyndall, the director of the Centre for Disease Control at 
the University of British Columbia, said it seems unnecessary the 
federal government should have any say in what a city does to engage 
people with addiction.

"I think it is a good move by the mayor of Montreal and the people 
supporting that," he said.

"The main divide is the federal government still views this as crime 
and punishment ... For those of us that have been on the ground for 
years, it is quite obvious that is not the way to deal with this."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom