Insite parties for its right to fight Stephen Harper

A free concert scheduled for Saturday (December 6) in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside could turn into a celebration of the looming demise of the Conservative government.

Two popular bands, Toronto-based Bedouin Soundclash and Vancouver-based Black Mountain, have agreed to perform at a street party and barbecue organized by the PHS Community Services Society. PHS operates one supervised-injection site called Insite on Hastings Street and has developed a preliminary plan for a second facility in the Downtown Eastside.

PHS cofounder Mark Townsend told the Georgia Straight that the music will begin at 4:30 p.m. near the corner of Hastings and Main streets. He said there will also be jugglers, stilt walkers, and possibly a fire-eating member of the PHS board on hand to provide entertainment. The street party is being held to send a message to Prime Minister Stephen Harper that the community backs Insite. (Shortly after the Straight went to press on December 3, Harper was scheduled to give a nationwide television address.)

On October 23, Bedouin Soundclash was going to perform a free concert in support of Insite and to celebrate its fifth anniversary, but police shut down the event because nobody had obtained a permit from the city. “We’ve got a permit now,” Townsend said, adding that he hopes politicians will be on hand to speak to the crowd.

However, with all the political turmoil in Ottawa, he acknowledged that some might not be available. “I know Libby Davies has been a giant champion of this, and so has Hedy Fry,” Townsend said, citing the NDP MP for Vancouver East and the Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre, respectively.

On December 8, the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Québécois hope to defeat the Harper government in a nonconfidence motion, which could set the stage for a new Liberal-led coalition government that would include six NDP cabinet ministers. Townsend said he is pleased by this prospect because PHS and other community members have been involved in a legal battle with the Harper government to keep Insite open. He said that NDP, Liberal, and Bloc MPs support supervised-injection facilities. Harper’s government opposes Insite, which is a partnership of PHS and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

“It’s a lot of time and effort fighting one person’s arrogance,” Townsend said.

Last May, B.C. Supreme Court justice Ian Pitfield granted Insite an exemption from Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, preventing the Harper government from shutting it down for having illegal narcotics on the premises. Pitfield ruled that if two sections of the law regarding possession and trafficking of illegal drugs were applied to addicts at Insite and the staff who deal with them, it would violate their constitutional rights.

“Instead of being rationally connected to a reasonable apprehension of harm, the blanket prohibition contributes to the very harm it seeks to prevent,” Pitfield wrote in his decision. “It is inconsistent with the state’s interest in fostering individual and community health, and preventing death and disease.”

The Harper government will try to overturn that ruling in the B.C. Court of Appeal next month. Townsend said that the government’s legal moves have drained a lot of the staff’s energy. “We do need to find some money to give to our lawyers,” he said.

Townsend noted that Insite is operating at full capacity, overseeing 600 to 800 injections per day. He added that there is sufficient demand for at least two more supervised-injection facilities in the Downtown Eastside. He also revealed that PHS intends to open a new site in the area. “An architect has done up plans,” Townsend said. “We’ve got them to a state where we can submit for a development permit.”

However, he emphasized there is no agreement in place yet with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, in part because of the legal uncertainty created by the Harper government’s appeal. “They’re in the same position as us,” he said.

Townsend refused to reveal any locations being considered for a new supervised-injection site, but he noted that a new facility could provide space for people who consume illegal drugs other than heroin. He said that could involve a “smoking room”, which would mark the first time that addicts could smoke crack in Vancouver without fear of being arrested.

In response to the growing use of crack in the Downtown Eastside in recent years, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users has been advocating for safe-inhalation rooms. So far, no regional health authority has approved funding for indoor facilities where people can smoke crack, which is illegal under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.