Pubdate: Fri, 22 Jan 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Authors: Elizabeth Church and Andrea Woo
Page: S1
Cited: YES2SCS: http://www.yes2scs.ca/

INSITE GETS BIG STAMP OF APPROVAL FROM PHILPOTT

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott has given a heartfelt stamp of 
approval to the work of Vancouver's Insite supervised-injection site, 
a dramatic shift in tone from the previous Conservative government on 
harm-reduction strategies that could have consequences across the country.

The new Liberal Health Minister, a family doctor who founded a 
charity that has raised more than $4-million to help those affected 
by HIV/AIDS in Africa, visited Insite on Wednesday, one day before 
joining her provincial and territorial counterparts for meetings on a 
new health accord.

While supervised-injection sites are not on the agenda, Dr. Philpott 
was asked about her visit during a break in the discussions.

"I have to say my visit to Insite was extremely moving for me," Dr. 
Philpott said on Thursday. "It meant so much to me because I've been 
involved in responding to things like the HIV pandemic for many years 
in my career and I've followed the work of Insite. I've always known 
that what they do absolutely saves countless lives. It has a huge 
impact on people."

Insite has operated on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside since 2003. The 
Dr. Peter Centre, a renowned HIV/AIDS clinic in the city's West End, 
has offered supervised-injection service in an integrated model since 
2002, receiving federal authorization last week.

The federal Liberal government, however, has not made any commitment 
to repealing the legislation that makes it extremely difficult to 
open other supervised-injection sites.

Andrew Day, a Vancouver Coastal Health manager for Insite, said Dr. 
Philpott engaged with users and front-line clinical staff during her 
one-hour visit, showing a detailed understanding of the complexities 
of drug use.

"From our perspective, we've seen a total pivot in terms of attitude, 
in terms of a willingness to engage with the research and the 
scientific community," Mr. Day said.

"I think that is significantly important not just for Insite, but for 
health care in general. We don't have to fight ideological battles; 
the focus is on what the evidence suggests will work, what the science says."

Mr. Day said the group engaged in a "sophisticated level of dialogue" 
because there was no need to explain the basic concepts of harm 
reduction and how science supports it.

"We had someone who was well engaged and has a clear understanding 
from her physician background," he said. "We were genuinely moved. It 
wasn't just a photo op. It wasn't a quick in-and-out."

Supporters of supervised-injection sites - including B.C.'s 
provincial health officer, Perry Kendall - have called on the new 
federal government to repeal the so-called Respect for Communities 
Act, which presents a barrier to opening such a site. Stephen 
Harper's Conservative government introduced the legislation after 
spending years trying to shut down Insite, eventually losing at the 
Supreme Court of Canada.

Dr. Philpott said Thursday that there has not yet been a discussion 
of the legislation. However, she did allude to those who tried to 
shut down the Vancouver facility.

"It was incredibly moving for me to be there, to be able to thank the 
folks that have put the program together over the years and have 
sometimes faced some adversaries along the way," she said.

Other provincial health ministers also expressed openness to 
consulting with residents on harm reduction strategies, including 
supervised-injection sites.

Alberta Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said it is promising that the 
new federal government is talking about harm reduction and taking 
actions such as its recent move to make naloxone, a drug that 
reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, available without a prescription.

"I think it is going have an impact on Canada," Ms. Hoffman said in 
an interview. "Right now there are certainly barriers to some of the 
harm reduction strategies in legislation."

Ms. Hoffman said the province will respond to any changes in federal 
legislation and would consult with the public before taking action.

"Certainly, we would have to have discussions with Albertans, but the 
research that I'm seeing is that the social benefits to society when 
people have a supervised place to use rather than using on our 
streets as well as the economic benefits warrant further discussion," she said.

The topic of supervised-injection sites also was raised by reporters 
on Wednesday, and Quebec Health Minister Gaetan Barrette said that 
province will soon follow British Columbia's lead. "We've watched the 
Insite project with great interest and it works. We're in favour of 
this type of initiative," Dr. Barrette said.

The minister said he supports Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre's plan to 
gradually open four supervised-injection sites in Montreal, and they 
will open with or without the federal government's approval.

In Victoria, a coalition of health-care professionals, social workers 
and advocates called YES2SCS has also been working to open a 
supervised-injection site in that city.

On Thursday, B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake reiterated his strong 
support for harm reduction measures such as supervised-injection 
sites, saying, "They save lives and they save costs."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom