Canada: First Safe Injection Site to Open by March

Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell said Canada's first safe injection site for drug addicts will be opened with federal approval in Vancouver by late February or early March. Campbell made the comment after a two-day meeting with Health Canada officials to discuss draft guidelines for what would be the first safe injection sites in North America. The meeting drew about 40 people. Campbell said all indications are that no major barriers will prevent a Vancouver team of health and science agencies from submitting a proposal the first week of January and getting approval within the 60 days required by Health Canada.

Vancouver agencies will likely submit an umbrella proposal for several sites to be approved at once, rather than having to file a separate application for each site. That group will likely include the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, the BC Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, and the Center for Disease Control.

Although Victoria, Winnipeg, Montreal and Quebec City sent police, health and government representatives, Vancouver is the closest to finalizing a proposal.

The guidelines say the sites will get exemptions from Health Canada only if they are for a "scientific" purpose; that proposals have to have been approved by standard peer reviews and ethical review boards; that all users will be research subjects; and that no one with a criminal record can work at the site. Heather Hay, head of VCHA's Downtown Eastside health project, said the meeting indicated some guideline flexibility. She earlier pointed out that VCHA routinely hires people with criminal records as addiction and alcohol counselors, so banning peer counselors from safe injection sites did not make sense. Budgetary and police oversight issues also remain to be worked out.

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