Pubdate: Wed, 22 May 2013
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2013 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: James Keller
Page: 51

DRUG USERS SUE OVER NEEDLE EXCHANGE BAN

Three injection drug users filed a lawsuit Tuesday over an Abbotsford,
B.C., bylaw that has banned harm-reduction services such as clean
needle exchanges for the past eight years, arguing the prohibition
violates their charter rights and needlessly puts them at risk.

The lawsuit comes as councillors in the Fraser Valley community study
the future of the bylaw, which health officials say is preventing them
from providing harm reduction services in an area with some of the
province's highest rates of overdoses and infections of HIV and
hepatitis C.

Scott Bernstein of Pivot Legal Society, which filed the lawsuit on
behalf of the trio, says council's work has dragged on for three years
with no indication about when - or even if - the city will repeal the
bylaw.

"From my clients' perspective, every day that this bylaw is on the
books, it's putting their lives and their safety at risk," Bernstein
said in an interview.

"Every indication is that this council is dragging its feet and not
moving quickly. It sees no urgency in solving this."

The lawsuit involves Douglas Smith, Nadia Issel and Diana Knowles, who
all live in Abbotsford and use injection drugs, according to their
statement of claim. The B.C./Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors
is also listed as a plaintiff.

In 2005, city council approved a zoning bylaw that bans needle
exchanges and safe-injection sites within the city. The bylaw was
passed amid the debate over the supervised-injection site in nearby
Vancouver, which opened the previous year.

The city began reviewing the bylaw in 2010 and has since ordered a
series of studies and public consultations.

In March, council directed city staff to prepare a draft bylaw that
would remove the harm reduction ban, though it's not clear when it
will return to council for debate or a vote. A public hearing on the
issue is expected in the fall.

Community groups have been quietly contravening the bylaw for years,
passing out clean needles, crack pipes and other supplies without any
attempt by the city to shut them down, but the bylaw has stopped the
local health authority from implementing a formal, publicly funded
harm-reduction program.

The Fraser Health Authority presented a plan to the council last year
that proposed phasing in a needle-exchange program over several years.
The authority's proposal would begin with distributing harm reduction
supplies through community organizations and would eventually include
mobile and fixed-site needle-exchange services.

However, the health authority made it clear it cannot act with the
bylaw still in place.

"If we're talking about other kinds of health care, like getting
insulin for your diabetes or getting your broken leg set, we don't
rely on people doing things in back alleys or doing them under the
radar," said Bernstein.

"The bylaw has created a chilling climate, where the health authority
can't deliver the most effective and cost-effective health care that
it has identified that it needs to deliver."

The statement of claim alleges the bylaw violates several sections of
the charter by increasing the risks to injection drug users and by
discriminating against addicts. The lawsuit also argues the city
doesn't have jurisdiction to pass bylaws that affect the delivery of
health-care, which is a provincial responsibility.

Neither the city's mayor nor deputy mayor could be reached for
comment.

Mayor Bruce Banman has previously said he supports removing the harm
reduction ban, though he has insisted any attempt to introduce a
needle-exchange program in his community must also include detox and
treatment programs.

Banman has also said he is adamantly opposed to a supervised-injection
site, such as the facility that operates in Vancouver's Downtown
Eastside. The Fraser Health Authority has stressed it is not proposing
such a site for Abbotsford.

Dr. Paul Van Buynder, the chief medical health officer for the Fraser
Health Authority, said in a statement Tuesday that he was optimistic
the city would repeal its harm reduction ban.

"Fraser Health supports harm reduction to stop the spread of disease
and is committed to working to expand access to harm reduction
supplies and services," the statement said.

"We are very pleased with the progress the city has made to change the
harm reduction bylaw and we continue to work with them to implement a
phased in harm reduction service plan for the community."

Barry Shantz of the B.C./Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors said
he's tired of waiting for the city to remove the harm reduction ban on
its own.

Shantz said he believes bylaw is rooted in fear.

"Their ignorance to what's really going on is based on beliefs -
there's no scientific evidence to support anything they're saying," he
said.

"They keep complaining that they don't have enough detox or treatment,
and that's also true, but that doesn't undermine the fact that the
bylaw is standing in the way and causing unnecessary harm."
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MAP posted-by: Matt