Pubdate: Fri, 02 Sep 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Page: S1
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Andrea Woo

LAW BLOCKS NEW INJECTION SITES: OFFICIALS

As overdoses rise, Vancouver mayor, B.C. Health Minister and medical 
authorities call on Ottawa to repeal 'mean-spirited' restriction

Vancouver's mayor and B.C.'s top health officials have formally 
requested Ottawa repeal legislation they say imposes unnecessary 
hurdles to opening new supervised consumption sites.

The call comes as overdose deaths in the province reach a level not 
seen in nearly 30 years of record keeping, driven in large part by 
fentanyl - a powerful synthetic opioid - being cut into the majority 
of street drugs. In the Metro Vancouver suburb of Delta, nine people 
overdosed in the span of 20 minutes this week after snorting 
fentanyl, believing it was cocaine. Early data from a nascent 
drug-testing initiative found that 90 per cent of heroin people 
brought into Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection site, contained fentanyl.

Gregor Robertson, B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake, Provincial Health 
Officer Perry Kendall and others made the request in a letter sent to 
federal Health Minister Jane Philpott on Wednesday in response to a 
Globe and Mail report that said she had no immediate plans to repeal 
or modify the legislation.

"The Respect for Communities Act is a flawed, mean-spirited and 
ineffective piece of legislation that only serves to marginalize our 
most vulnerable residents and criminalize people suffering from 
addiction," the letter stated. "It was a deliberate attempt by the 
Conservative government to create barriers that block people from 
accessing life-saving harm-reduction services and medical care.

"The Act is in no way based on health science and should be repealed 
by your government as soon as possible."

Other signatories include Patricia Daly, chief medical health officer 
for Vancouver Coastal Health, and Maxine Davis, executive director of 
the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, which has offered a supervised 
injection service since 2002.

Asked by The Globe about the legislation last week, Dr. Philpott - a 
vocal supporter of evidence-based harm-reduction initiatives and 
supervised consumption sites specifically - said her government is 
"continuing to follow how that is evolving" and would consider 
changes if they are required. However, there are no immediate plans 
to repeal or modify.

In a follow-up interview, Dr. Philpott reiterated that there could 
possibly be changes in the future.

"My department is working very closely with municipalities who have 
either submitted applications, or are about to submit applications, 
to let it be known that we want to facilitate [them]," she said.

"I want it to be known that if in fact it's deemed in our ongoing 
assessment that the legislation needs to be either amended or 
repealed, we're certainly open to doing so."

Hedy Fry, Liberal MP for Vancouver-Centre, a medical doctor and the 
former opposition health critic, had said last October that her party 
would revisit the legislation brought in by the previous Conservative 
government.

"I have never, as a physician, understood how you could ignore good, 
solid scientific evidence and data and successful outcomes in other 
parts of the world," Dr. Fry said at the time. "For me, this is clear 
evidence. Addiction is a public-health issue, so what is it that 
we're doing here? Surely if you care about the lives of all 
Canadians, you don't separate Canadians into a group of people whose 
lives are worthless and a group of people whose lives are worthy."

An interview request with Dr. Fry on Thursday was forwarded to Dr. 
Philpott's office.

Ms. Davis said she has no doubts about the Liberal government's 
"earnest and sincere commitment to improving access to supervised 
consumption sites."

The act as is, and its name, are fundamentally flawed and 
disrespectful of people who inject drugs, she said.

"It's a blunt message that communities matter; [people who use drugs] 
don't," Ms. Davis said. "A new act, with a new name, would be an 
opportunity for them to lead a change in the tone of conversation 
between communities and their citizens who inject drugs."

At least 433 people have died of illicit drug overdoses in B.C. so 
far this year. Health officials fear that the figure could reach 
between 600 and 800 by the end of the year.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom