Egan: New law could kill any hope for safe-injection site in Ottawa

published on April 7, 2015 by Kelly Egan, in Ottawa Citizen

The federal government has signalled when the city of Ottawa will be able to open a safe-injection site for intravenous drug users. It’s called never.

Little attention was paid when the House of Commons passed Bill C-2 in late March. Drug addicts are like prison inmates: They make poor lobbyists. The law is called the Respect For Communities Act, one of those Orwellian names — like the Safe Streets Act — cooked up by the short-pants in Mind Control.

The act is a response to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in 2011 to uphold the existence of Vancouver’s Insite drug clinic because it delivered health benefits without substantial negative effects on the community.

But the new law makes future applications so burdensome, not to mention politically charged, it’s doubtful any would ever be approved.

“Should Bill C-2 become law, it will be extremely difficult to open a supervised injection anywhere in Canada, including in Ottawa,” said Lisa Wright, a PhD candidate and an organizer with the Campaign for Safer Consumption Sites.

Those who’ve studied the new law say there are more than 25 requirements, some of them highly detailed, to accompany any new application. Among them must be a letter from the mayor, the police chief, the chief medical officer and the relevant provincial minister.

The act does not say these authority figures must “approve” of the site, but it does seek opinions. It also asks for background checks on staff members and scientific evidence about the worthiness of the plan.

In Ottawa, both the mayor and police chief have stated their opposition to a safe-injection site and the public health department has remained neutral, saying it is monitoring the issue.

Wright, one of several members of the grassroots group, says it is obvious the Conservative government has politicized the issue, pointing to the involvement of law enforcement in what should be a health decision.

“If we conceive of drug use as a health issue, it should be within the purview of health authorities. We don’t need the police chief to be a part of it, or a mayor’s politicking.”

This is, indeed, the classic disagreement in how drug addiction is viewed and treated: either as an illness that needs medical treatment or a selfish indulgence in an illegal product that needs to be caught and criminalized.

Thus, the chasm over the state being involved in providing a safe place for illegal drugs to be used under medical supervision.

The bill’s preamble lays out both sides, including this graphic reference: “Whereas the money that is used to purchase controlled substances that are obtained from illicit sources often originates from criminal activity such as theft, and that money, in turn, often funds organized crime in our communities …”

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Egan: New law could kill any hope for safe-injection site in Ottawa

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