Federal government to take supervised injection site case to Supreme Court

BC-CfE MEDIA MONITORING
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2010
=====================

BC-CfE
* Whitehorse Daily Star (from CP) - "Federal government to take supervised injection site case to Supreme Court"
---Julio Montaner quoted


BRITISH COLUMBIA
* The Georgia Straight - "Conservatives continue long fight against Insite with application to Supreme Court"

*

BC-CfE

Federal government to take supervised injection site case to Supreme Court
The Whitehorse Daily Star
Wed Feb 10 2010
Page: 16

Section: Nation
Byline: Camille Bains, with files from John Ward in Ottawa
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Canadian Press

VANCOUVER -- The federal government is heading to the Supreme Court of Canada to try to shut down Vancouver's supervised drug-injection site, but British Columbia's health minister says Conservative politicians should get past their ideological opposition to the facility.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said Tuesday that the recent B.C. Appeal Court ruling affirming Insite provides addicts with health care, which is a provincial jurisdiction, opened the door to an appeal to Canada's highest court.

"There was a dissenting opinion in the B.C. Court of Appeal, and the government of Canada believes it is important that the Supreme Court of Canada be asked to rule on this matter," Nicholson said in a statement from Ottawa.

The Jan. 15 ruling said the site that allows addicts to shoot up their own drugs under a nurse's supervision provides health services and that the provinces, not Ottawa, have control over health care and therefore Insite as well.

"This case raises important questions regarding the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity and the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments," Nicholson said.

He said the federal government agrees that addicts need help but believes the approach of the safe-injection site, called Insite, isn't the right solution.

"Our national anti-drug strategy focuses on prevention and access to treatment for those with drug dependencies," he said.

But supporters of Insite say the federal government is wasting its time and taxpayers' money by trying to close down a facility that helps addicts.

Kevin Falcon, British Columbia's health minister, said Ottawa's decision to file another appeal against Insite is the wrong way to go.

"I'm disappointed because this is a program that has received very widespread independent medical journal support for the outcomes and the efforts they are making on a medical basis to treat some of the most difficult addicts you can imagine," he said in an interview.

Falcon said he was once a skeptic of Insite and considered it a licence for addicts to use drugs but that the medical literature he read in highly regarded journals such as the Lancet persuaded him to change his mind.

He said he hopes Nicholson would also make his judgments after considering the evidence.

"I would really encourage him to read the medical journals that have independently evaluated the program and have shown, in a very comprehensive way, that it is achieving results," Falcon said.

"As ministers of the Crown I think we ought to, as best as we can, be guided by the evidence and the facts. And I understand the ideological hesitation, no question about it. I've been there."

Insite opened as a pilot project in 2003 under a federal exemption of Canada's drug laws. Last year, the provincial government spent $2.9 million on the program.

Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV-AIDS, said Ottawa's ongoing court battles against Insite are taking away from a program that should be expanded to other jurisdictions.

"Here we have another instance of serious interference on the part of the federal government, which is actually not trivial because what this is doing is inhibiting our ability to build on the success of Insite," he said.

"It's particularly disappointing that the minister of justice and the attorney general of Canada, Rob Nicholson, specifically stated the government recognizes the need for assistance for injection drug users. I would like to remind him that this is exactly what we are trying to do."

Montaner questioned the timing of Nicholson's announcement, noting it comes at a time when Parliament has been suspended and most Canadians aren't paying much attention to federal government announcements days before the Olympic Games begin.

Mark Townsend, executive director of the Portland Hotel Society, one of the organizations that runs Insite, said he felt "sick and depressed" when he heard Ottawa was starting a third court battle against Insite.

"We're not set up, really, to fight the prime minister," he said.

"Addiction, in Canada, is a huge scourge and yet (the government) does is nothing. We're here trying to do something while they've been attacking us. We've opened detox beds, we're running this thing," he said.

"Every time they've gone to court with us they've lost more and more. and we told them we don't want to go to court. We see this as not a legal, jurisdiction thing, not a political thing. This is just about public health."

==========================

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Conservatives continue long fight against Insite with application to Supreme Court
The Georgia Straight
Travis Lupick

The Conservative government's request that its lawsuit against Insite be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada is all about punishing an initiative it does not like, proponents of Vancouver's supervised-injection site suggest.

"I just think it is about pure politics," said Mark Townsend, manager for the Portland Hotel Society, one of the partners that runs Insite. "I think we were very unlucky that this came across Stephen Harper's desk."

On February 9, Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson announced that the federal government had filed an application for the Supreme Court to hear its appeal in the case of the Attorney General of Canada v. PHS et al (Insite).

On January 15, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled that Insite's operation falls under provincial and not federal jurisdiction.

That followed a May 2008 decision by the B.C. Supreme Court that said that applying Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to activities at Insite was inconsistent with section seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states that "everyone has a right to life, liberty, and security of the person and right not to be deprived thereof".

Townsend said that he was not surprised by the Conservative government's decision to appeal, and described the action as part of a broader strategy that aims to waste opponents' time and money.

He noted that earlier in Insite's battle with the federal government, the Conservatives fought Insite's request for a summary trial that did end up saving time and money. And that when the court awarded costs against the federal government, that was appealed as well, despite the dollar amount being minimal.

"It was like that was designed to be kind of spiteful and to be disingenuous and to be difficult," Townsend said.

The justice minister's release argues that the federal government's case "raises important questions regarding the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity and the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments."

Carolyn Bennett, health critic for the Liberal Party of Canada, called that characterization "total nonsense". Like Townsend, she argued that the Conservative's steadfast opposition to Insite is based on ideology and not science.

"It is so upsetting to have a government that is so punitive that they don't understand that all of these things require a therapeutic approach, not a punitive, law and order approach that just makes no sense," Bennett said.

She also noted that Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Opposition, has announced that he will visit Insite while in town for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Daniel Webster, who served as counsel for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association when it acted as an intervener in the Insite case, told the Straight that the Supreme Court will likely announce its decision on whether or not it will hear the case sometime in the late spring or early fall.

==========================

Protesters chain doors of centre ahead of PM visit
Canwest News Service

VANCOUVER - A Vancouver protest against the federal government's latest bid to shut down a safe-injection drug treatment site turned into a political donnybrook Wednesday after protesters chained and barred the doors of a Chinese cultural centre.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was scheduled to attend the dress rehearsal of the Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Celebration Parade in Vancouver Wednesday afternoon. Seizing an opportunity, about 150 protesters attended to attack Harper's decision to launch an appeal of a B.C. Court of Appeal decision that ruled Insite, North America's only supervised injection site, can remain open.

Dimitri Soudas, Harper's press secretary, said that the protesters delayed the prime minister's visit to the cultural centre by taping the door shut, which trapped seniors, veterans and children inside.

"The protesters definitely crossed the line," he said in an interview.

Earlier in the day, Soudas sent several notes to reporters in Ottawa reporting the protesters sealed off the building where the dress rehearsal was taking place.

"Veterans, seniors and young children are currently being prevented from exiting or entering the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver because of the Libby Davies 'welcoming committee' has taped all exits shut," Soudas wrote. "This is a lack of respect for seniors, veterans, Canadians of Chinese origin and the young kids inside the building. The situation has created a security risk for all the people currently in the building.

"Some doors have been chained or taped shut while people were preparing for a Chinese New Year rehearsal."

Poppycock, said Davies, the New Democrat MP for Vancouver East. She said the rally, which she attended in support of Insite, was "low-key" and quite peaceful.

"It's outrageous for him to suggest that I organized this or somehow I put people's lives in danger," she said. "The whole point of the rally is about saving people's lives with Insite. That's what Insite does.

Vancouver police officials confirmed Wednesday that Harper was not in the building while the protest was taking place.

They said officers attended the protest and removed the chains from the doors.

"There were no injuries and no arrests," said the police media release. "The protest was allowed to safely continue without further incident. The Vancouver police respect the right to protest safely and the right to assemble safely. However, in this case, the protesters infringed upon the rights and safety of others. Minimal steps were taken to ensure those locked inside the building were able to leave safely."

Soudas suggested the protest could have ended in disaster for the people inside.

"Of the 250 Chinese Canadians, 50 are uniformed veterans, 50 are young children who have come to showcase their culture to the (prime minister) and media," he wrote. "In the horrible event of fire or emergency, all those goodwilled people would be prevented from exiting.

"Is Libby Davies proud of this?"

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CANADA

Insite protesters promise to dog Harper's Olympic appearances
The Globe and Mail
Ian Bailey and Justine Hunter

Supporters of Vancouver's safe-injection site are promising to interfere with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Olympic appearances after forcing him to postpone an appearance visit to a Chinese Cultural Centre with a feisty protest yesterday.

Nathan Allen, a spokesman for Insite for Community Safety, promised the continued activism "if we know where [Mr. Harper] is" after a protest in which activists chained the doors of the downtown Chinese Cultural Centre ahead of Mr. Harper's appearance.

The demonstration, which drew dozens of Vancouver police officers who stood between the building and about 150 protesters, came in the same week that the federal Conservative government said it would launch an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada to shut down Insite, which provides addicts with a safe, clean place to use their drugs.

Not long before the Prime Minister's scheduled photo op at the Chinese Cultural Centre, a few blocks from Insite in the Downtown Eastside, the protesters wrapped yellow caution tape around the complex, then chained the doors.

Vancouver police removed the chains before allowing the protest to continue.

The situation prompted a barbed exchange between Libby Davies, the Vancouver East MP for the NDP, and Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for Mr. Harper.

Mr. Soudas criticized Ms. Davies for calling the protest impressive on Twitter, noting in an e-mail that "veterans, seniors and young children" were trapped inside because Ms. Davies's "welcoming committee" closed the exits.

"We had an NDP MP outside cheering them on," he said in a subsequent interview.

Ms. Davies watched the protest and left before it ended. However, she denied she had anything to do with organizing it - an assertion backed up by Mr. Allen.

Mr. Harper will visit the B.C. Legislature today.

While the debate about Mr. Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament continues, he'll deliver a speech on the eve of the 2010 Winter Olympics Games to salute the province for its role as host.

Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff helpfully sent B.C. legislators a list of questions they could ask on his behalf.

"I am writing to you as fellow Parliamentarians Š to ask you a favour," he wrote in the letter, released yesterday. "Since we in the House of Commons can't ask Mr. Harper any questions, and since you'll have him in the B.C. Legislature, maybe you could try and get some answers from him," he wrote in the letter, released yesterday.

But as B.C. New Democratic Party leader Carole James noted, there is no chance to do anything but sit back and listen. "Mr. Ignatieff knows those questions can be asked outside the legislature," she said. "If the Prime Minister wants to address the legislature, we don't have a problem with that."

Mr. Harper will not be available for questions outside the House, either, as he will not meet with reporters. He will meet privately with B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell. He'll head back to Vancouver to attend the opening ceremonies tomorrowFRI.

In Ottawa, the federal Liberal Leader said it is "ridiculous" that the Prime Minister will deliver a speech about the Olympics in Victoria.

"He ought to be giving it in this room behind us," he said in front of the Commons. "This is the Parliament of Canada. That's where that speech should be given. But he's prorogued," he said, adding: "I sure hope he doesn't prorogue the B.C. Legislature." After sitting for just three days this month, the B.C. Legislature will break for the duration of the Games.

==========================

Harper holds off on Vancouver photo-op after injection-site supporters protest
The Canadian Press
Wed Feb 10 2010
Section: National General News

VANCOUVER _ Protesters chained shut the doors of a Vancouver community centre Wednesday, forcing Prime Minister Stephen Harper to delay a planned appearance on his pre-Winter Games goodwill tour of the city.

Vancouver police said about 150 protesters turned up just before 2 p.m. at the Chinese Cultural Centre, where Harper was to take part in a photo-op at Chinese Lunar New Year preparations.

Supporters of Vancouver's supervised drug-injection site organized a welcoming committee for Harper to express their displeasure with Ottawa's decision to appeal a court ruling in favour of the facility.

NDP MP Libby Davies told her Twitter followers there was an ``impressive gathering'' waiting for the prime minister and the building was covered with police tape.

``It was a peaceful protest in support of Insite (I didn't organize). Didn't see chains on doors. Police moved in and out freely,'' said the posting.

The site said Harper ``should be in parl. Insite saves lives - crazy to appeal court decisions.''

Vancouver police said that about 150 protesters chained the doors just before 2 p.m. at the centre, where Harper was to see a dress rehearsal of Lunar New Year celebrations.

``Safety concerns arose after protesters chained and barred the doors to the centre, leaving the people inside the centre with no means of exit,'' police said in a statement.

Officers removed the chains and there were no injuries or arrests, police said.

``The protest was allowed to safely continue without further incident.''

Harper, who is in town in the lead up to the start of the 2010 Winter Games on Friday, delayed his visit until after the protesters left.

Harper spokesman Dmitri Soudas said the protesters created a security risk for the members of the public and the media inside waiting for the prime minister.

``This was supposed to be a day of celebration but unfortunately those protesters were very violent and it has to created a serious security risk for those inside,'' Soudas said.

He blamed Davies for encouraging the protesters, although the Liberal MP denied being a part of organizing the rally.

And Soudas defended the federal government's decision to appeal a B.C. Appeal Court decision that upheld a lower court decision in Insite's favour.

The B.C. Supreme Court decision found that health care is provincial jurisdiction, and Insite a health care facility. Therefore, the supervised injection site can operate without a federal exemption from drug laws.

Jun Ing, a leader in the Chinese community who was in the locked building, was not angered by the protest.

``This is what's so beautiful about Canada, this is a free country,'' said Ing, secretary-general of the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver. ``But I'm hoping they could be a little more considerate next time.''

==========================

Protesters force Harper to delay appearance
CBC.CA News
Wed Feb 10 2010, 7:00pm ET
Section: Canada

Prime Minister Stephen Harper had to postpone a visit to a Vancouver Chinese community centre Wednesday because protesters had surrounded the building and taped its doors shut.

Harper was scheduled to make an afternoon visit to the centre to see a rehearsal for Chinese new year festivities next week.

An estimated 150 protesters surrounded the building and wrapped tape around the handles on the front doors, temporarily barring entry or exit.

An estimated 100 people, including Chinese new year performers, officials and journalists were inside. Police quickly removed the tape as a safety precaution for those inside.

It's believed Harper's security detail made the decision to postpone the appearance and his motorcade never approached the building.

The prime minister made the visit a few hours later, once the demonstrators had dispersed.

Many protesters carried placards denouncing the federal government's decision to appeal a B.C. Court of Appeal decision that a Vancouver safe-injection site could remain open.

The facility, called Insite, is located on the Downtown Eastside, one block from Wednesday's protest.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced Monday that the government would seek leave to appeal that decision before the Supreme Court of Canada.

==========================

Harper's Chinatown visit delayed due to protest
CTV.ca

An appearance by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Vancouver's Chinatown was delayed Wednesday after about 150 protesters gathered outside the Chinese Cultural Centre and chained the doors to a building.

Harper was scheduled to attend a dress rehearsal of a Chinese New Year parade. The Prime Minister's Office said about 250 people were inside the building at the time. They included 50 uniformed veterans and about 50 young children.

The Prime Minister's Office accused NDP MP Libby Davies of being behind the protest.

"In the horrible event of fire Š all those goodwilled people would be prevented from exit(ing)," Dimitri N. Soudas, a Prime Minister's Office spokesman, said in a statement to reporters.

On her Twitter page, Davies referred to the protest as peaceful.

"Didn't see chains on doors," she wrote.

In an earlier posting, Davies described the group as a "very impressive gathering in support of Insite," North America's first supervised safe-injection site.

Davies has been critical of the Harper government, accusing it of ignoring multiple court rulings in favour of keeping the site open.

On Tuesday, the federal government announced it would go to the Supreme Court of Canada to try and shut down the site.

Vancouver police arrived and removed all the chains. There were no injuries and no arrests.

The protest was allowed to continue, police said.

==========================

Chaingate: PMO office forges protest controversy
Rabble.ca

The PMO's office was in Vancouver today to make an announcement at the Chinese Cultural Centre, and was greeted by a "Welcome Committee" formed of Insite supporters.

Yesterday the Conservative government announced that it would appeal the B.C. Supreme Court's earlier ruling that Vancouver's Safe Injection Site -- Insite -- should remain open. The  B.C. Appeal Court upheld the lower court's ruling and further ruled that InSite is under provincial, not federal jurisdiction.

Today the PMO got a taste of how frustrated Insite supporters are. Over a hundred supporters formed a welcome committee outside the Chinese Cultural Centre, carrying signs, changing slogans, and putting up police tape and duck tape outside some of the entrance.

Long time Insite supporter, Vancouver East MP Libby Davis tweeted that she was at the protest, and as a result, the PM's Press Secretary, Dimitri N. Soudas, sent out a flurry of hyperbolic emails, blaming MP Libby Davies for the protest, and suggesting that she was personally responsible for putting those inside the event at risk.

In an informal series of email communications sent to the Parliamentary Press Gallery, and obtained by rabble.ca, the outspoken senior Communications staff person attacks Ms. Davies (and misspells her name). The following is the text of one his emails to the national media:



From: Soudas, Dimitri
Subject: Send to gallery

- Inside the chinese cultural centre are 250 chinese canadians who have
gathered for a dress rehearsal of their chinese new year parade.
- At approx 125pm, about 200 protestors descended on the cultural centre and
swarmed the building, will bullhorns, plackards and masking tape.
- They proceeded to block access to and from the chinese cultural centre,
then began taping all the doors shut
- Another 50-75 protestors arrived and began chanting and cursing.
Protestors totalling close to 300.

- Of the 250 chinese canadians, 50 are uniformed veterans, 50 are young
children who have come to showcase their culture to the pm and media

in the horrible event of fire of emergency, all those goodwilled people
would be prevented from exit


Is libby davie proud of this?


g methadone treatment has nearly quadrupled in a little more than a month.

In December, about 24 people were on waiting lists. There are now about 88 waiting for treatment at either the St. Joseph's Community Health Centre or Ridgewood Addiction Services, with about 70 uptown and 18 at Ridgewood.

But the higher number of people seeking treatment does not necessarily mean more people are using opiate drugs, said Julie Dingwell, executive director of AIDS Saint John.

Instead, more people might be discovering the program, which provides opiate addicts with methadone.

"Wait lists are not an accurate reflection of how many people want (treatment)," she said. "A lot of times, people won't go on a wait list. They say, 'If you can't help me right now, forget it.' "

Dingwell said since the new uptown clinic opened, the number of clean needles her organization gives out has been slashed in half. In 2009, AIDS Saint John gave out about 200,000 needles.

"Clearly we have some evidence that methadone does get people off needles," she said.

The waiting lists for treatment were up to several hundred before the clinic opened. It now treats around 160 people, and about 190 people receive treatment at Ridgewood, which includes a mandatory counselling component.

If methadone is administered once a day and in adequate doses, it can usually suppress a heroin or Dilaudid addict's craving and withdrawal for 24 hours.

At Ridgewood, people on the waiting list have a three- to 30-day wait, said Clarissa Andersen, spokeswoman with the Horizon Health Network.

People are considered on the list if they have an appointment. Methadone is a small part of the treatment, which includes counselling and other social services.

At the uptown clinic, people can self-refer and get relatively fast treatment, Dingwell said.

In December, Health Minister Mary Schryer said she won't expand the program to other areas of the province until more is known on the impact of not offering counselling along with the methadone.

Tim Christie, another leading advocate of the new uptown clinic, has said previous academic studies show there is only a marginal benefit to adding counselling to methadone treatment.

That marginal benefit is not worth limiting access to people, he said.

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INTERNATIONAL

Inside Vancouver's legal supervised injection site (video)
BBC News

Link: http://bit.ly/cCVnAA

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=====================

BC-CfE MEDIA MONITORING

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2010

=====================

 

BC-CfE

* Whitehorse Daily Star (from CP) - "Federal government to take supervised injection site case to Supreme Court"

---Julio Montaner quoted

 

 

BRITISH COLUMBIA

* The Georgia Straight - "Conservatives continue long fight against Insite with application to Supreme Court"

 

* Canwest News Service - "Protesters chain doors of centre ahead of PM visit"

---This wire story appears in the Vancouver Sun, Victoria Times-Colonist, and Calgary Herald

 

* Canwest News Service - "Tattoo patrons told to get HIV tests; Health dangers found at seven unlicensed Alberta parlours"

---This wire story appears in the Vancouver Sun and Victoria Times-Colonist

 

* Xtra West - "Opposition to Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill has imperialist ring"

 

* Broadcast coverage of the Insite protest includes: CTV News, Global BC, CP24 (Toronto), and CBC - The National 

 

 

CANADA

* The Globe and Mail - "Insite protesters promise to dog Harper's Olympic appearances"

 

* The Canadian Press - "Harper holds off on Vancouver photo-op after injection-site supporters protest"

---This story also appears in the Hamilton Spectator

 

* CBC.ca - "Protesters force Harper to delay appearance"

 

* CTV.ca - "Harper's Chinatown visit delayed due to protest"

 

* Rabble.ca - "Chaingate: PMO office forges protest controversy"

 

* The Globe and Mail - "One-third of young native drug users have hepatitis C, study finds"

 

* New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal - "Sites lauded as lifesavers; Drugs: Medical ethicist says safe injection locations 'brilliant' at preventing overdose deaths"

 

* New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal - "Longer waiting list not necessarily bad"

 

* Calgary Herald - "Licensed tattoo artists applaud crackdown; Patrons urged to get tested for HIV, hepatitis"

 

* Winnipeg Sun - "Man disputes HIV risk; Wants 14-year sentence quashed"

 

* National Post (from Winnipeg Free Press) - "Brief: Decision reserved on HIV-positive man"

 

* The Canadian Press - "HIV-positive man appeals conviction"

 

 

UNITED STATES

* The Wall Street Journal - "Drug makers decry Indian patent system"

 

* BusinessWeek - "Scientists discover how HIV is transmitted between men"

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

* BBC News - "Inside Vancouver's legal supervised injection site" (video)

---Link to video clip: http://bit.ly/cCVnAA

---Duration:  1:09

 

* The Jakarta Post - "People with HIV/AIDS to empower the community against ignorance"

 

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Stories are pasted below and attached.

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BC-CfE

 

Federal government to take supervised injection site case to Supreme Court

The Whitehorse Daily Star

Wed Feb 10 2010

Page: 16

Section: Nation

Byline: Camille Bains, with files from John Ward in Ottawa

Dateline: VANCOUVER

Source: Canadian Press

 

VANCOUVER -- The federal government is heading to the Supreme Court of Canada to try to shut down Vancouver's supervised drug-injection site, but British Columbia's health minister says Conservative politicians should get past their ideological opposition to the facility.

 

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said Tuesday that the recent B.C. Appeal Court ruling affirming Insite provides addicts with health care, which is a provincial jurisdiction, opened the door to an appeal to Canada's highest court.

 

"There was a dissenting opinion in the B.C. Court of Appeal, and the government of Canada believes it is important that the Supreme Court of Canada be asked to rule on this matter," Nicholson said in a statement from Ottawa.

 

The Jan. 15 ruling said the site that allows addicts to shoot up their own drugs under a nurse's supervision provides health services and that the provinces, not Ottawa, have control over health care and therefore Insite as well.

 

"This case raises important questions regarding the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity and the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments," Nicholson said.

 

He said the federal government agrees that addicts need help but believes the approach of the safe-injection site, called Insite, isn't the right solution.

 

"Our national anti-drug strategy focuses on prevention and access to treatment for those with drug dependencies," he said.

 

But supporters of Insite say the federal government is wasting its time and taxpayers' money by trying to close down a facility that helps addicts.

 

Kevin Falcon, British Columbia's health minister, said Ottawa's decision to file another appeal against Insite is the wrong way to go.

 

"I'm disappointed because this is a program that has received very widespread independent medical journal support for the outcomes and the efforts they are making on a medical basis to treat some of the most difficult addicts you can imagine," he said in an interview.

 

Falcon said he was once a skeptic of Insite and considered it a licence for addicts to use drugs but that the medical literature he read in highly regarded journals such as the Lancet persuaded him to change his mind.

 

He said he hopes Nicholson would also make his judgments after considering the evidence.

 

"I would really encourage him to read the medical journals that have independently evaluated the program and have shown, in a very comprehensive way, that it is achieving results," Falcon said.

 

"As ministers of the Crown I think we ought to, as best as we can, be guided by the evidence and the facts. And I understand the ideological hesitation, no question about it. I've been there."

 

Insite opened as a pilot project in 2003 under a federal exemption of Canada's drug laws. Last year, the provincial government spent $2.9 million on the program.

 

Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV-AIDS, said Ottawa's ongoing court battles against Insite are taking away from a program that should be expanded to other jurisdictions.

 

"Here we have another instance of serious interference on the part of the federal government, which is actually not trivial because what this is doing is inhibiting our ability to build on the success of Insite," he said.

 

"It's particularly disappointing that the minister of justice and the attorney general of Canada, Rob Nicholson, specifically stated the government recognizes the need for assistance for injection drug users. I would like to remind him that this is exactly what we are trying to do."

 

Montaner questioned the timing of Nicholson's announcement, noting it comes at a time when Parliament has been suspended and most Canadians aren't paying much attention to federal government announcements days before the Olympic Games begin.

 

Mark Townsend, executive director of the Portland Hotel Society, one of the organizations that runs Insite, said he felt "sick and depressed" when he heard Ottawa was starting a third court battle against Insite.

 

"We're not set up, really, to fight the prime minister," he said.

 

"Addiction, in Canada, is a huge scourge and yet (the government) does is nothing. We're here trying to do something while they've been attacking us. We've opened detox beds, we're running this thing," he said.

 

"Every time they've gone to court with us they've lost more and more. and we told them we don't want to go to court. We see this as not a legal, jurisdiction thing, not a political thing. This is just about public health."

 

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BRITISH COLUMBIA

 

Conservatives continue long fight against Insite with application to Supreme Court

The Georgia Straight

Travis Lupick

 

The Conservative government's request that its lawsuit against Insite be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada is all about punishing an initiative it does not like, proponents of Vancouver's supervised-injection site suggest.

 

"I just think it is about pure politics," said Mark Townsend, manager for the Portland Hotel Society, one of the partners that runs Insite. "I think we were very unlucky that this came across Stephen Harper's desk."

 

On February 9, Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson announced that the federal government had filed an application for the Supreme Court to hear its appeal in the case of the Attorney General of Canada v. PHS et al (Insite).

 

On January 15, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled that Insite's operation falls under provincial and not federal jurisdiction.

 

That followed a May 2008 decision by the B.C. Supreme Court that said that applying Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to activities at Insite was inconsistent with section seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states that "everyone has a right to life, liberty, and security of the person and right not to be deprived thereof".

 

Townsend said that he was not surprised by the Conservative government's decision to appeal, and described the action as part of a broader strategy that aims to waste opponents' time and money.

 

He noted that earlier in Insite's battle with the federal government, the Conservatives fought Insite's request for a summary trial that did end up saving time and money. And that when the court awarded costs against the federal government, that was appealed as well, despite the dollar amount being minimal.

 

"It was like that was designed to be kind of spiteful and to be disingenuous and to be difficult," Townsend said.

 

The justice minister's release argues that the federal government's case "raises important questions regarding the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity and the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments."

 

Carolyn Bennett, health critic for the Liberal Party of Canada, called that characterization "total nonsense". Like Townsend, she argued that the Conservative's steadfast opposition to Insite is based on ideology and not science.

 

"It is so upsetting to have a government that is so punitive that they don't understand that all of these things require a therapeutic approach, not a punitive, law and order approach that just makes no sense," Bennett said.

 

She also noted that Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Opposition, has announced that he will visit Insite while in town for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

 

Daniel Webster, who served as counsel for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association when it acted as an intervener in the Insite case, told the Straight that the Supreme Court will likely announce its decision on whether or not it will hear the case sometime in the late spring or early fall.

 

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Protesters chain doors of centre ahead of PM visit

Canwest News Service

 

VANCOUVER - A Vancouver protest against the federal government's latest bid to shut down a safe-injection drug treatment site turned into a political donnybrook Wednesday after protesters chained and barred the doors of a Chinese cultural centre.

 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was scheduled to attend the dress rehearsal of the Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Celebration Parade in Vancouver Wednesday afternoon. Seizing an opportunity, about 150 protesters attended to attack Harper's decision to launch an appeal of a B.C. Court of Appeal decision that ruled Insite, North America's only supervised injection site, can remain open.

 

Dimitri Soudas, Harper's press secretary, said that the protesters delayed the prime minister's visit to the cultural centre by taping the door shut, which trapped seniors, veterans and children inside.

 

"The protesters definitely crossed the line," he said in an interview.

 

Earlier in the day, Soudas sent several notes to reporters in Ottawa reporting the protesters sealed off the building where the dress rehearsal was taking place.

 

"Veterans, seniors and young children are currently being prevented from exiting or entering the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver because of the Libby Davies 'welcoming committee' has taped all exits shut," Soudas wrote. "This is a lack of respect for seniors, veterans, Canadians of Chinese origin and the young kids inside the building. The situation has created a security risk for all the people currently in the building.

 

"Some doors have been chained or taped shut while people were preparing for a Chinese New Year rehearsal."

 

Poppycock, said Davies, the New Democrat MP for Vancouver East. She said the rally, which she attended in support of Insite, was "low-key" and quite peaceful.

 

"It's outrageous for him to suggest that I organized this or somehow I put people's lives in danger," she said. "The whole point of the rally is about saving people's lives with Insite. That's what Insite does.

 

Vancouver police officials confirmed Wednesday that Harper was not in the building while the protest was taking place.

 

They said officers attended the protest and removed the chains from the doors.

 

"There were no injuries and no arrests," said the police media release. "The protest was allowed to safely continue without further incident. The Vancouver police respect the right to protest safely and the right to assemble safely. However, in this case, the protesters infringed upon the rights and safety of others. Minimal steps were taken to ensure those locked inside the building were able to leave safely."

 

Soudas suggested the protest could have ended in disaster for the people inside.

 

"Of the 250 Chinese Canadians, 50 are uniformed veterans, 50 are young children who have come to showcase their culture to the (prime minister) and media," he wrote. "In the horrible event of fire or emergency, all those goodwilled people would be prevented from exiting.

 

"Is Libby Davies proud of this?"

 

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CANADA

 

Insite protesters promise to dog Harper's Olympic appearances

The Globe and Mail

Ian Bailey and Justine Hunter

 

Supporters of Vancouver's safe-injection site are promising to interfere with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Olympic appearances after forcing him to postpone an appearance visit to a Chinese Cultural Centre with a feisty protest yesterday.

 

Nathan Allen, a spokesman for Insite for Community Safety, promised the continued activism "if we know where [Mr. Harper] is" after a protest in which activists chained the doors of the downtown Chinese Cultural Centre ahead of Mr. Harper's appearance.

 

The demonstration, which drew dozens of Vancouver police officers who stood between the building and about 150 protesters, came in the same week that the federal Conservative government said it would launch an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada to shut down Insite, which provides addicts with a safe, clean place to use their drugs.

 

Not long before the Prime Minister's scheduled photo op at the Chinese Cultural Centre, a few blocks from Insite in the Downtown Eastside, the protesters wrapped yellow caution tape around the complex, then chained the doors.

 

Vancouver police removed the chains before allowing the protest to continue.

 

The situation prompted a barbed exchange between Libby Davies, the Vancouver East MP for the NDP, and Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for Mr. Harper.

 

Mr. Soudas criticized Ms. Davies for calling the protest impressive on Twitter, noting in an e-mail that "veterans, seniors and young children" were trapped inside because Ms. Davies's "welcoming committee" closed the exits.

 

"We had an NDP MP outside cheering them on," he said in a subsequent interview.

 

Ms. Davies watched the protest and left before it ended. However, she denied she had anything to do with organizing it - an assertion backed up by Mr. Allen.

 

Mr. Harper will visit the B.C. Legislature today.

 

While the debate about Mr. Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament continues, he'll deliver a speech on the eve of the 2010 Winter Olympics Games to salute the province for its role as host.

 

Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff helpfully sent B.C. legislators a list of questions they could ask on his behalf.

 

"I am writing to you as fellow Parliamentarians Š to ask you a favour," he wrote in the letter, released yesterday. "Since we in the House of Commons can't ask Mr. Harper any questions, and since you'll have him in the B.C. Legislature, maybe you could try and get some answers from him," he wrote in the letter, released yesterday.

 

But as B.C. New Democratic Party leader Carole James noted, there is no chance to do anything but sit back and listen. "Mr. Ignatieff knows those questions can be asked outside the legislature," she said. "If the Prime Minister wants to address the legislature, we don't have a problem with that."

 

Mr. Harper will not be available for questions outside the House, either, as he will not meet with reporters. He will meet privately with B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell. He'll head back to Vancouver to attend the opening ceremonies tomorrowFRI.

 

In Ottawa, the federal Liberal Leader said it is "ridiculous" that the Prime Minister will deliver a speech about the Olympics in Victoria.

 

"He ought to be giving it in this room behind us," he said in front of the Commons. "This is the Parliament of Canada. That's where that speech should be given. But he's prorogued," he said, adding: "I sure hope he doesn't prorogue the B.C. Legislature." After sitting for just three days this month, the B.C. Legislature will break for the duration of the Games.

 

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Harper holds off on Vancouver photo-op after injection-site supporters protest

The Canadian Press

Wed Feb 10 2010

Section: National General News

 

VANCOUVER _ Protesters chained shut the doors of a Vancouver community centre Wednesday, forcing Prime Minister Stephen Harper to delay a planned appearance on his pre-Winter Games goodwill tour of the city.

 

Vancouver police said about 150 protesters turned up just before 2 p.m. at the Chinese Cultural Centre, where Harper was to take part in a photo-op at Chinese Lunar New Year preparations.

 

Supporters of Vancouver's supervised drug-injection site organized a welcoming committee for Harper to express their displeasure with Ottawa's decision to appeal a court ruling in favour of the facility.

 

NDP MP Libby Davies told her Twitter followers there was an ``impressive gathering'' waiting for the prime minister and the building was covered with police tape.

 

``It was a peaceful protest in support of Insite (I didn't organize). Didn't see chains on doors. Police moved in and out freely,'' said the posting.

 

The site said Harper ``should be in parl. Insite saves lives - crazy to appeal court decisions.''

 

Vancouver police said that about 150 protesters chained the doors just before 2 p.m. at the centre, where Harper was to see a dress rehearsal of Lunar New Year celebrations.

 

``Safety concerns arose after protesters chained and barred the doors to the centre, leaving the people inside the centre with no means of exit,'' police said in a statement.

 

Officers removed the chains and there were no injuries or arrests, police said.

 

``The protest was allowed to safely continue without further incident.''

 

Harper, who is in town in the lead up to the start of the 2010 Winter Games on Friday, delayed his visit until after the protesters left.

 

Harper spokesman Dmitri Soudas said the protesters created a security risk for the members of the public and the media inside waiting for the prime minister.

 

``This was supposed to be a day of celebration but unfortunately those protesters were very violent and it has to created a serious security risk for those inside,'' Soudas said.

 

He blamed Davies for encouraging the protesters, although the Liberal MP denied being a part of organizing the rally.

 

And Soudas defended the federal government's decision to appeal a B.C. Appeal Court decision that upheld a lower court decision in Insite's favour.

 

The B.C. Supreme Court decision found that health care is provincial jurisdiction, and Insite a health care facility. Therefore, the supervised injection site can operate without a federal exemption from drug laws.

 

Jun Ing, a leader in the Chinese community who was in the locked building, was not angered by the protest.

 

``This is what's so beautiful about Canada, this is a free country,'' said Ing, secretary-general of the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver. ``But I'm hoping they could be a little more considerate next time.''

 

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Protesters force Harper to delay appearance

CBC.CA News

Wed Feb 10 2010, 7:00pm ET

Section: Canada

 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper had to postpone a visit to a Vancouver Chinese community centre Wednesday because protesters had surrounded the building and taped its doors shut.

 

Harper was scheduled to make an afternoon visit to the centre to see a rehearsal for Chinese new year festivities next week.

 

An estimated 150 protesters surrounded the building and wrapped tape around the handles on the front doors, temporarily barring entry or exit.

 

An estimated 100 people, including Chinese new year performers, officials and journalists were inside. Police quickly removed the tape as a safety precaution for those inside.

 

It's believed Harper's security detail made the decision to postpone the appearance and his motorcade never approached the building.

 

The prime minister made the visit a few hours later, once the demonstrators had dispersed.

 

Many protesters carried placards denouncing the federal government's decision to appeal a B.C. Court of Appeal decision that a Vancouver safe-injection site could remain open.

 

The facility, called Insite, is located on the Downtown Eastside, one block from Wednesday's protest.

 

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced Monday that the government would seek leave to appeal that decision before the Supreme Court of Canada.

 

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Chaingate: PMO office forges protest controversy

Rabble.ca

 

The PMO's office was in Vancouver today to make an announcement at the Chinese Cultural Centre, and was greeted by a "Welcome Committee" formed of Insite supporters.

 

Yesterday the Conservative government announced that it would appeal the B.C. Supreme Court's earlier ruling that Vancouver's Safe Injection Site -- Insite -- should remain open. The  B.C. Appeal Court upheld the lower court's ruling and further ruled that InSite is under provincial, not federal jurisdiction.

 

Today the PMO got a taste of how frustrated Insite supporters are. Over a hundred supporters formed a welcome committee outside the Chinese Cultural Centre, carrying signs, changing slogans, and putting up police tape and duck tape outside some of the entrance.

 

Long time Insite supporter, Vancouver East MP Libby Davis tweeted that she was at the protest, and as a result, the PM's Press Secretary, Dimitri N. Soudas, sent out a flurry of hyperbolic emails, blaming MP Libby Davies for the protest, and suggesting that she was personally responsible for putting those inside the event at risk.

 

In an informal series of email communications sent to the Parliamentary Press Gallery, and obtained by rabble.ca, the outspoken senior Communications staff person attacks Ms. Davies (and misspells her name). The following is the text of one his emails to the national media:

 

 

 

From: Soudas, Dimitri

Subject: Send to gallery

 

- Inside the chinese cultural centre are 250 chinese canadians who have

gathered for a dress rehearsal of their chinese new year parade.

- At approx 125pm, about 200 protestors descended on the cultural centre and

swarmed the building, will bullhorns, plackards and masking tape.

- They proceeded to block access to and from the chinese cultural centre,

then began taping all the doors shut

- Another 50-75 protestors arrived and began chanting and cursing.

Protestors totalling close to 300.

- Of the 250 chinese canadians, 50 are uniformed veterans, 50 are young

children who have come to showcase their culture to the pm and media

 

in the horrible event of fire of emergency, all those goodwilled people

would be prevented from exit

 

 

Is libby davie proud of this?

 

 

 

Dimitri N. Soudas

Associate Director | Press Secretary

Directeur  associé | Attaché de presse

 

Communications

Prime Minister's Office

Cabinet du Premier ministre

 

 

 

As a result of his emails Twitter was aflutter with rumours that protestors had "chained" shut the doors. CBC Ottawa Bureau reporter @kady asked Libby Davies to confirm whether the doors were chained. Davies wrote back: "@libbydavies: it was a peaceful protest in support of Insite (I didn't organize). Didn't see chains on doors. Police moved in and out freely @kady #fb"

 

It seems that some doors had police tape and duck tape on them, but other exits were free.  And it seems that PMO Press Secretary should ... chill.

 

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Longer waiting list not necessarily bad

New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal

Thu Feb 11 2010

Page: C2

Section: News

Byline: APRIL ROBINSON TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

 

The waiting list for people seeking methadone treatment has nearly quadrupled in a little more than a month.

 

In December, about 24 people were on waiting lists. There are now about 88 waiting for treatment at either the St. Joseph's Community Health Centre or Ridgewood Addiction Services, with about 70 uptown and 18 at Ridgewood.

 

But the higher number of people seeking treatment does not necessarily mean more people are using opiate drugs, said Julie Dingwell, executive director of AIDS Saint John.

 

Instead, more people might be discovering the program, which provides opiate addicts with methadone.

 

"Wait lists are not an accurate reflection of how many people want (treatment)," she said. "A lot of times, people won't go on a wait list. They say, 'If you can't help me right now, forget it.' "

 

Dingwell said since the new uptown clinic opened, the number of clean needles her organization gives out has been slashed in half. In 2009, AIDS Saint John gave out about 200,000 needles.

 

"Clearly we have some evidence that methadone does get people off needles," she said.

 

The waiting lists for treatment were up to several hundred before the clinic opened. It now treats around 160 people, and about 190 people receive treatment at Ridgewood, which includes a mandatory counselling component.

 

If methadone is administered once a day and in adequate doses, it can usually suppress a heroin or Dilaudid addict's craving and withdrawal for 24 hours.

 

At Ridgewood, people on the waiting list have a three- to 30-day wait, said Clarissa Andersen, spokeswoman with the Horizon Health Network.

 

People are considered on the list if they have an appointment. Methadone is a small part of the treatment, which includes counselling and other social services.

 

At the uptown clinic, people can self-refer and get relatively fast treatment, Dingwell said.

 

In December, Health Minister Mary Schryer said she won't expand the program to other areas of the province until more is known on the impact of not offering counselling along with the methadone.

 

Tim Christie, another leading advocate of the new uptown clinic, has said previous academic studies show there is only a marginal benefit to adding counselling to methadone treatment.

 

That marginal benefit is not worth limiting access to people, he said.

 

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INTERNATIONAL

 

Inside Vancouver's legal supervised injection site (video)

BBC News

 

Link: http://bit.ly/cCVnAA

 

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