Posted November 22, 2006
Peter O'Neil, CanWest News Service; Vancouver Sun
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OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government cut off federal funding for Vancouver's controversial supervised injection site for drug addicts because it wants a ''diversity'' of opinions before deciding on the facility's future, Health Minister Tony Clement said Tuesday.
Clement was responding to a report in the latest edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal which summarized various research, indicating mostly positive outcomes, since the pilot project was initiated three years ago.
The article said studies have shown a large reduction in public drug use, fewer incidents of addicts sharing syringes and discarding them in public places, and increased use of detoxification services in Vancouver. There has been no increase in drug-dealing around the facility in the city's Downtown Eastside.
''We welcome any scientific papers on the topic,'' Clement said at a news conference when asked about the CMAJ article. ''We will also be ensuring that other scientific papers are part of the mix as well. And then we'll be able to weigh the evidence in having all the evidence on the table, on all the questions that are raised by the supervised injection site and come to a better conclusion 18 months from now.''
Why then, he was asked, did the federal government cut the project off from further research funding when Clement announced on Sept. 1 a limited extension of the pilot project.
''Well, I think it's important to have a diversity of research,'' Clement replied.
The federal government had contributed $1.5 million from 2003-06 for research into the facility, which has 12 injection stalls, clean needles for addicts, nurses to assist when users overdose, and a referral service for those seeking rehabilitation programs, housing, or health advice.
But federal research funding into the so-called ''harm-reduction'' initiative was halted after Clement announced in a Sept. 1 news release that he wouldn't accept the recommendation from the B.C. government, the City of Vancouver, and even Health Canada bureaucrats to extend the site's permit for another three years.
Instead, he gave the facility a reprieve until Dec. 31, 2007, while noting that ''initial research has raised questions'' about the project.
Tuesday's peer-reviewed report, produced by the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, noted the government's Sept. 1 announcement followed the Canadian Police Association's claim, ''without providing any data,'' that the facility Insite has been unsuccessful.
Dr. Thomas Kerr, one of the report's authors, said evaluation and research is continuing with the help of bridge funding from the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.
He said he is unaware of any other current research underway.
''We are happy to collaborate, provided those involved are appropriately qualified and provided that the research methods are solid, and lastly provided that they follow the same principles that we have followed by seeking independent peer review of their research prior to public dissemination,'' Kerr said in an e-mail.
Dr. Julio Montaner, another of the report's authors, said Monday the government is being driven not by public health but by ideological concerns relating to its tough law-and-order agenda.