Minister defends bill requiring consultation on injection site applications

published on April 9, 2015 by Robert Sibley, in Ottawa Citizen

The federal government would be irresponsible if it did not insist that recently tabled legislation regarding drug injection sites include provisions requiring community consultation, says a Conservative cabinet minister.

“This is clearly a matter of public health and public safety, and I think Canadians would expect the minister of health to listen carefully to the municipal and community leaders in a jurisdiction where an injection house is proposed,” Pierre Poilievre, the Minister of Employment and Social Development, said in an interview Wednesday.

“I think we need to take into account everybody’s point of view … (and) it would be irresponsible to ignore the voices of the mayor, the police chief and the local community if an application for a drug injection house comes forward.”

In Ottawa, both Mayor Jim Watson and Police Chief Charles Bourdeleau have voiced concerns about setting up an injection site.

The minister’s comments follow criticism this week by safe-injection site proponents who say Bill C-2 makes it harder than ever to establish such sites in Canadian cities.

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

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Minister defends bill requiring consultation on injection site applications

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