As a Supreme Court hearing on Vancouver’s safe injection site approaches later this week, the B.C. Nurses' Union is preparing to intervene in support of what they say is a life-saving health service.

The union held a press conference today (May 9) to outline the arguments their legal counsel plans to make in the country’s highest court this week.

“It is simply disgraceful that the federal government continues to try and outlaw this legitimate health care service, and in the process, attempts to make criminals out of nurses, who are saving lives and providing quality care to this vulnerable population,” Janice Buchanan, the vice-president of the B.C. Nurses' Union, told reporters.

“We’re hoping that once and for all, the Conservative federal government will be forced to stop fighting the evidence, both medical and legal, that proves that the Insite clinic is a legitimate health care service that saves lives, and improves conditions for hundreds of people suffering from the disease of addiction,” she added.

The provincially funded Insite facility is the first legal supervised-injection site in Canada. The clinic offers clients primary care services, addictions counseling and treatment.

While decisions from both the B.C. Supreme Court and the B.C. Court of Appeal have favoured Insite, the Harper government wants to see the facility shut down.

Federal justice minister Rob Nicholson has said the case “raises important questions regarding the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity and the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments.”

Tim Gauthier, a registered nurse and the clinical coordinator at Insite, said if the facility is shut down, “people are going to die”.

“People are still going to be using drugs whether Insite’s there or not, they’re just going to be using behind dumpsters, in the alleys and in their hotel rooms”¦and that equals dead people,” he said.

Gauthier said Insite has managed over 1,000 overdoses without any fatalities since it opened in 2003.

“The services provided at Insite are not controversial, from a medical, scientific or even a humanitarian standpoint,” he argued. “The only controversial thing about this issue is the Conservative government’s attempts to close it down.”

Marjorie Brown, the legal counsel representing the BCNU at the Supreme Court, noted Insite users are 30 percent more likely to access treatment than drug users who do not use the facility.

“Contrary to the argument that Insite encourages or allows drug use to continue, the evidence is that Insite contributes to a reduction in drug use and to drug users accessing treatment and detox,” said Brown.

Russ Maynard, the program coordinator for the Portland Hotel Society, which operates the clinic, said an Insite user is taken to detox everyday. In addition to the safe injection site, the facility also includes 30 detox and recovery beds.

Maynard described the clinic as “too busy” and wants to see a second safe injection site opened.

The facility typically receives about 800 to 850 visits per day. Maynard said the number of people seeking detox services has increased since the clinic opened.

“The only numbers that are trending up are referrals to detox,” he said, noting the detox facility has a success rate of about about 58 percent.

Maynard added that B.C. has been successful at reducing HIV infection rates, a reduction he said Insite has played a role in.

A report released by B.C.'s chief medical officer in March recommended that efforts to prevent HIV infection among injection drug users, such as supervised injection services, be expanded.

“Insite’s a part of the establishment, it’s part of the health care continuum in Vancouver,” said Maynard. “Is that acceptable that a governing party in Ottawa is going to tell British Columbia to close that program? I don’t think so.”

You can follow Yolande Cole on Twitter at twitter.com/yolandecole.