Harm Reduction

In yet another sign of that Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have a very different approach to drugs than the previous government, federal Health Minister Jane Philpott yesterday toured Insite, the long-standing supervised injection site on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and called the experience “incredibly moving.” That might not seem remarkable; numerous peer-reviewed studies have shown that Insite […]

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott has given a heartfelt stamp of approval to the work of Vancouver’s Insite supervised-injection site, a dramatic shift in tone from the previous Conservative government on harm reduction strategies that could have consequences across the country. The new Liberal Health Minister, a family doctor who founded a charity that has

The most chronic offenders in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside incur public service costs of more than $5-million every year yet see no meaningful signs of improvement, according to a new study from Simon Fraser University. The findings suggest that this subset of about 300 people needs targeted, intensive supports to escape the “revolving door” of the

Insite pioneers say government open to more supervised injection services now that the Tories are gone. A Liberal majority government will open the door for more supervised injection sites across Canada, according to Larry Campbell. The Liberal senator was Vancouver’s mayor when Insite became the first supervised injection site in North America. It remains the

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

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

Vancouver’s Insite receives one-year renewal On March 25, Parliament passed the “Respect For Communities Act,” or Bill C-2. This amendment creates further regulations in allowing supervised drug consumption sites across the country. Insite, located in the Downtown Eastside, is the first and the only legal supervised injection site in North America. The facility is operated

Say what you will about Prime Minister Harper and his government. They’re nothing if not persistent. Vancouver’s pioneering safe injection facility Insite earned its annual exemption form the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to continue offering harm reduction services for people addicted to heroin this week. But that exemption is going to be a lot

Advocates fear new federal legislation will make it harder to open safe injection sites in future Canada’s first supervised injection site has received a Health Canada exemption that allows it to continue to operate, days after passage of federal legislation that critics fear will make it harder to open new facilities. Vancouver Coastal Health is