Safe injection sites by fall

Coderre vows to push ahead without Ottawa’s approval

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre would like to see supervised injection sites introduced in the city by this fall, whether the federal government grants the required exemption to the groups involved in the project or not.

“What are we waiting for? People are dying,” Coderre said Thursday at a news conference.

Montreal gave the safe-injection project the green light two years ago in 2013 — approval for three sites and a mobile unit where serious drug addicts can legally and safely inject themselves. The goal is to reduce death from overdose and HIV and other infections from dirty needles, Coderre said.

At least 80 people overdosed and another 25 died in Montreal last year after injecting drugs.

The delay in implementing the sites “is all politics,” Coderre said of the federal government’s longstanding opposition to offer drug users legal spaces to consume illegal substances.

“This is urgent for Montreal,” Coderre said following the announcement that the city, public health authorities and community groups have requested Health Canada grant an exemption in order to implement three safe injection sites and a mobile clinic.

But Coderre said he does not intend to wait for Health Canada’s approval too long.

“We’ll give them about two months,” he said. The request is more of a formality because the Supreme Court has already made its position clear on the topic, he added. Also, health matters fall under provincial jurisdiction.

Everything is in place, except approval from Ottawa, the last missing piece, Coderre said. The project has received $2.6 million in annual financing from the provincial government. Public safety authorities, the Montreal police department and citizens were also consulted.

In 2011, Canada’s top court found Ottawa’s refusal to renew the exemption for Vancouver’s injection site — the only one in Canada — was unconstitutional because it deprived people access to potentially life-saving medical care. Insite Vancouver was established in 2003 in a downtown east-side neighbourhood where most of its vulnerable drug addicts congregate.

Unlike Vancouver, Montreal does not have a concentration of drug users in one location, Coderre said. The injection sites will be located downtown, the Plateau and Hochelaga areas, while the mobile units will service Montreal’s northern and southwest neighbourhoods.

The safe injection sites will be an extension of services provided by groups already working with the homeless and the addicted. CACTUS Montréal, Dopamine, Spectre de rue and Anonyme give out 6,000 fresh needles a year. Together they report 75,000 visits a year, said CACTUS Montréal di-

It will save lives, and that’s been proven at 90 different (drug injection) sites around the world.

rector Sandhia Vadlamundy.

Community, municipal and provincial stakeholders have worked on the supervised injection sites for the past five years, said Sonia Bélanger, director of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) du Centre-Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (which replaced the Montreal Health and Social Services Agency.)

“This is a great step forward and a tribute to the tenacity of all involved,” Bélanger said.

Richard Massé, the CIUSSS regional director of public health, said the sites are for drug addicts, but the benefits will be felt by all Montrealers because of the drop in infections and deaths.

“It will save lives, and that’s been proven at 90 different (drug injection) sites around the world,” he said. “It will also decrease infection because we provide them with clean material and information.

“Third, and this is really important, it increases the use of health and social services by people who don’t consult (doctors or clinics) easily. They can be referred to services at a time when they are ready to receive them. And it will decrease the number of syringes in parks and alleys.”

After a wave of overdose deaths last year, the health department called for broader naloxone availability, which can counter overdose effects of drugs such as heroin and morphine, he said.

In Ottawa, Health Minister Rona Ambrose issued a statement criticizing Coderre for attempting to open drug injection sites without consultation.

“Our Conservative Government has a strong record of keeping our streets and communities safe,” her statement said. “We oppose and are deeply concerned with (Liberal leader) Justin Trudeau’s pledge to open drug injection houses in communities across Canada.”

In a statement issued late Thursday, Health Canada said it reviews requests for exemptions to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) on a case-bycase basis and running an injection site without one could lead to legal action.