Another Country Heard From
"Quebec says no to safe-injection sites for now"
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=c1e36f15-2e98-4463-b470-a2919f40848f&k=55177
Quebec says no to safe-injection sites for now
Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, August 20, 2008
QUEBEC - Quebec has decided not to open safe-injection sites for drug
addicts, citing too little scientific evidence about their effectiveness.
The decision comes only two days after Tony Clement, the federal health
minister, assailed the Canadian Medical Association for supporting Canada's
first supervised drug-injection site in Vancouver, arguing it is against
their profession's code of ethics to allow drug addicts to shoot up.
The federal government is a vocal opponent of the project and has repeatedly
tried to shut it down.
A spokeswoman for Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc said Clement's comments
didn't influence them.
"We are not ready to endorse what Mr. Clement said," Marie-Eve Bedard said
Wednesday. "There's a question of public opinion, but we are also concerned
about the fact that there is no consensus in the medical community about
this. So right now we don't have enough information to go ahead."
In June, then health minister Philippe Couillard said he was considering
setting up safe-injection sites in the province.
Bedard said the government didn't change its mind on the issue but has
rather decided to wait for convincing evidence such a site can cut down on
blood-borne infections among drug addicts and set users on the road to
recovery.
1 comment:
But David, according to all the pro-Insite people, the debate is over. Insite is a good thing. The research supports it. "Everyone" knows it.
So how on earth could our friends in Quebec be so foolish as to not support such an "amazing success story"?!?
Now let's get real. Clearly not everyone is sold on Insite. If asked about this Quebec decision the pro-Insite people will say that the it was made under pressure from the Federal Conservatives. Possibly, but I doubt it.
What's more likely is that the some from Quebec must have toured Vancouver, really taken a look at Insite and decided it wasn't as glorious as we keep hearing.
Why is it that with issues like Insite and Global Warming, that science takes a back seat and political rhetoric rules the roost? Does B.S. really make the world go round? Seems like it does in Canada.
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