Activists are campaigning for supervised injection sites in Ottawa following drug abuse statistics in a new report by the Campaign for Safer Consumption Sites.
Ottawa has one of the highest rates of HIV and Hepatitis C among drug users in Canada. Last year, more than 6,300 needles and 1,200 crack pipes were recovered from parks and streets around the city.
One in 10 drug users are infected with HIV and one in six have contracted Hepatitis C.
“Ottawa is in a very desperate situation and this program is really needed,” said Dr. Mark Tyndall, head of infectious diseases at the Ottawa Hospital.
“Working with people who are drug addicts is all I’ve done for the last 15 years. It’s devastating what diseases like HIV and Hepatitis do to individuals. The idea of these sites is that it is unacceptable for people to just pull out a needle on the street and start injecting themselves.
“We already spend billions of dollars on the problem. So to say that we don’t have $500,000 a year to spend on this is ridiculous. We would save money if we prevented just three HIV infections a year through these sites.”
The report was compiled in April this year by CSCS, a voluntary organization formed by community members who were concerned about the spread of drug related diseases in Ottawa.
New rules passed by the federal government in the spring set out conditions that need to be met by applicants for a new site. This includes a rundown of procedures and policies and input from the public.
Residents and businesses in the Byward Market area were interviewed about the sites.
Of the 78 business owners interviewed, over half said their business had been affected by drug use and 73 per cent felt that supervised drug consumption sites should be opened in Ottawa.
The injection site, which would be located in the downtown area, would provide clean syringes, needles and swabs to drug addicts and ensure the safe disposal of used needles.
Trained medical staff would provide first aid and counsellors would be on hand to discuss the treatment of addictions.
Jonathan Hutchison, associate pastor of the Peace Tower Church on Bronson Avenue, says there are a lot of problems with drug abuse in the Centretown area.
“People come to us with addictions and we try to help them overcome that, although with serious cases we have to refer them to professionals in health care,” he explained.
“Drug abuse does lead to more crime in the area. We had a guy who was a drug addict break into the church and steal valuable items. It happened to a few churches in Bronson – they were called the Bronson break-ins,” says Hutchison.
But Hutchison, who was formerly a pastor in downtown Vancouver, says he’s not sure if the sites have improved the situation for drug addicts and the community.
“I think people need a whole continuum of care, an A to Z, not just a one stop thing,” says Hutchinson.
The campaign has also been met with opposition from some community, the police and the federal government.
Insp. Chris Rheaume, of the Ottawa Police Service, said drugs are not as big a problem as alcohol is in the city.
“There are other solutions to preventing drug abuse like education, prevention, and helping people who are already drug users to stop,” he says.
“Supervised injection sites just aid these people in continuing the drug cycle. Ottawa is a huge area. If I’m a drug user in Kanata, am I going to get on a bus to the Byward Market or Centretown to shoot up? Not in a million years.”
Rheaume says the Ottawa Police Service is opposed to the site, from the chief down.
An amendment to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act proposed that the introduction of supervised injection sites would require the support of the entire community.
But these injection sites are not something new in Canada. This month marks the 10th anniversary of a similar program, Insite, in Vancouver.
According to the government, around 600 people use the supervised sites to inject drugs every day, meaning Insite is running near full capacity.
“I was heavily involved in Insite in Vancouver. We have a lot of information about the benefits of these sites,” says Tyndall. “It’s not as though Ottawa is taking a step into the unknown.”