Pubdate: Thu, 28 Jan 2010
Source: Monday Magazine (CN BC)
Copyright: 2010 Monday Publications
Contact: http://mondaymag.com/contact/
Website: http://www.mondaymag.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1150
Author: Jason Youmans

STILL STUCK

What The Insite Decision Means For Victoria

Back in 2006, then-Victoria mayor Alan Lowe kicked off his third term 
in office by noting in his inaugural address, "I believe there is 
increasing awareness and understanding about the benefits of 
establishing a safe consumption site in our City that is integrated 
with other social services, housing and medical care. With this in 
mind, the City will work closely with VIHA in the new year to seek an 
exemption under the Canada Health Act to allow us to establish a safe 
consumption site in Victoria."

In 2007, then-provincial health minister George Abbott told the media 
he would begin lobbying federal health minister Tony Clement for the 
Section 56 criminal code exemption that would authorize three 
satellite supervised consumption sites to be established in the city, 
as per the recommendations of UVic researcher Dr. Benedikt Fischer's 
feasibility study on the subject.

Fast forward to 2010, and not only does Victoria have no supervised 
consumption facility, but has actually lost a pillar of its harm 
reduction program with the closure of the fixed-site needle exchange 
on Cormorant Street in 2008. And it appears a January 15 B.C. Court 
of Appeals decision that the Insite safe consumption site in 
Vancouver offers health services that supersede the provisions of the 
criminal code won't change Victoria's circumstances any time soon.

Vancouver Island Health Authority Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. 
Richard Stanwick says the legal battle over supervised drug 
consumption versus Canada's criminal code is not over yet, so the 
local health authority is not prepared to commit funds to 
implementing a service that could ultimately get shut down if the 
federal government is successful in appealing the recent 2-1 decision.

"For myself, and I think for a lot of my colleagues, we were buoyed 
by the court decision which largely said that addiction should be 
addressed as a health issue, rather than one of criminality," says 
Dr. Stanwick. "But, unfortunately, this is not the Supreme Court of 
Canada but the Appeal Court of B.C., so there is still the very 
distinct possibility that this decision will be appealed by the 
federal government to the Supreme Court of Canada."

Health Canada has yet to reveal its future plans, although a 
spokesperson for federal health minister Leona Aglukkaq told 
reporters, "While the government respects the court's decision, we 
are disappointed with the outcome."

Dr. Stanwick says VIHA is constrained by the laws of the land.

"Even now, there is likely to be some caution in terms of embarking 
on even the planning phase until it is clear that we do have the 
authority to move forward, and our health authority is obliged to 
follow regulations, laws-local, provincial and federal-and there is 
angst, and not misplaced I think, that we really want to do the right 
thing, but in a way that it is properly sanctioned."

Critics however, say VIHA has an obligation to deliver health 
services to all its clients, regardless of potential legal implications.

"We have a health authority that is unwilling, a health authority 
that lacks in the political will, to provide people with the health 
services that are necessary and rational for people who most need 
them," says Harm Reduction Victoria's Kim Toombs.

And the City of Victoria too bears responsibility for forward 
momentum on the file, Toombs says. "This issue takes a champion, so 
let's have one," she argues. "City council could really shine on 
this. Someone needs to be the rational voice in this, so if the 
health authority isn't going to do it, let city council be the 
champions on this one."

If the matter goes unresolved for too long, says Toombs, the health 
authority risks being left out of the loop when activists move 
forward to establish a supervised consumption site unsanctioned by 
the authorities. M
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart