Pubdate: Fri, 19 Jul 2013
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Thandi Fletcher

ABBOTSFORD FORCED TO DEFEND BAN ON INSITE-STYLE DRUG TREATMENT

The City of Abbotsford will have to defend its anti-harm-reduction 
bylaw to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal against allegations it 
discriminates against drug users.

The tribunal has accepted a B.C./ Yukon Association of Drug War 
Survivors complaint on behalf of three Abbotsford drug users alleging 
the city acted outside of its jurisdiction, violated Charter rights 
and breached the Human Rights Code.

Barry Shantz of the drug-war survivors group said the tribunal's 
acceptance of the complaint is a positive step in breaking down the 
stigma and discrimination he says drug users face in Abbotsford.

Shantz said the city needs to treat drug addiction as a medical 
issue, not a criminal one, arguing rigorous medical research on 
Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection site, has proven the 
facility reduces needle-sharing and overdose deaths.

"For the complaint to be accepted is a win in itself," he told The 
Province. "We have all of the expert witness at our fingertips yet 
our communities ignore it and go in the opposite way, and they 
support the war on drugs."

The group is now looking at including more B.C. communities in the 
complaint, expected to be heard early next year.

Abbotsford amended its zoning bylaw in 2005. At the time, Abbotsford 
councillors made it clear they were changing the city's bylaw to 
prevent harm-reduction services, like passing out clean needles and 
crack pipes, from starting in their community after the controversial 
opening of Insite two years earlier.

The Fraser Health Authority has said it can't launch the 
needle-distribution program it already has planned for Abbotsford 
while the bylaw stands. But community groups have been quietly 
contravening the bylaw.

In 2010, Abbotsford reviewed the bylaw at the request of Fraser 
Health. In its review, the city denied the bylaw violates the rights 
of drug users.

"The provisions of the bylaw relating to harm-reduction use are 
directed to promoting the orderly, efficient and reasonable use of 
land within the defendant's boundaries," the document stated.

On Thursday, Fraser Health spokeswoman Erin Labbe said the authority 
is committed to working with Abbotsford to expand access to harm 
reduction, "a vital tool in combating the spread of disease and 
connecting users to substance abuse treatment and other social and 
medical services."

A request for comment from the City of Abbotsford wasn't immediately returned.

- - with files from The Canadian Press
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom