Pubdate: Fri, 08 Apr 2016
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Andrew Duffy
Page: A1

DRUG SITE NEEDS CITY APPROVAL, HOSKINS SAYS

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins has suggested he will only 
consider funding a safe injection site for Ottawa if the project has 
municipal approval.

In a statement issued to Postmedia, Hoskins said decisions about safe 
injection sites rest mostly with federal and municipal governments.

"I understand that such a proposal is currently being considered by 
the City of Ottawa," he said. "Our government has been clear that we 
will consider a request for a safe injection site if a municipality 
were to come forward with a proposal." Asked to clarify whether the 
province would consider a proposal that came directly from a health 
centre, not a municipality, an official in Hoskins's office said, 
"We're not going to prejudge the outcomes of the municipal process."

Hoskins said he hopes the federal government's new openness to safe 
injection sites will act as a catalyst, and bring political leaders 
together to address the issue.

Earlier this year, Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott approved 
Canada's second safe injection site in Vancouver, and invited 
applications for more such services.

A safe injection site must receive a federal exemption from national 
drug laws before it can apply for provincial funding.

"We now have a (federal) government that understands the science and 
is willing to make decisions based on science and evidence," Hoskins 
said. "This provides us an opportunity to do just that - but we must 
allow the city the opportunity to consider this request before moving forward."

Hoskins's statement turns the heat up on Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, a 
former Liberal cabinet minister at Queen's Park, who has long opposed 
a safe injection site in the city. He has said provincial tax dollars 
are better spent on drug and alcohol treatment programs.

While Hoskins might want Watson to compromise - or be swayed by 
studies that show safe injection sites reduce death, disease and 
drug-related litter - the mayor has so far shown no sign he's willing 
to budge. Watson has said there's no right or wrong answer to the 
controversial question of whether a safe injection site should open 
in Ottawa, only opinions.

"I have an opinion. I've been asked about it. I've been very 
consistent," he told reporters earlier this week.

The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre wants to add a supervised 
injection service to its downtown facility to reduce disease 
transmission and overdose deaths among the city's drug addicts. It 
has vowed to push ahead with the project even in the face of 
opposition from civic leaders.

The issue appears headed for a showdown at city council, but that 
won't happen until after Health Canada considers the health centre's 
application for an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances 
Act. The health centre expects to make that application this fall.

A preliminary budget prepared by the community health centre shows 
the safe injection service would require $250,000 to $300,000 a year 
to operate.

In December 2015, a St. Michael's Hospital researcher published a 
study that found one safe injection site in Ottawa would avert 358 
HIV infections and 323 hepatitis C infections over the course of 20 
years. That would save an estimated $32.3 million in health care 
costs, the study said, but the site would cost $31.5 million to build 
and operate.

Rob Boyd, an executive with the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, 
said the proposed supervised injection service in Ottawa would be 
much cheaper since it would operate from the basement of the agency's 
existing Nelson Street facility.

Hoskins said the government of Premier Kathleen Wynne is committed to 
harm reduction since it "has been demonstrated to save lives and 
reduce costs to the health care system."

The government, he added, has plans to increase funding for mental 
health and addictions services by $138 million over the next three years.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom