ADDICTION WORKERS SEE DECISION AS A VALIDATION OF THEIR WORK

Vancouver's controversial supervised-injection site should stay open
indefinitely, the country's top court ruled Friday, calling the
federal government's move to shut it down a violation of the Charter
of Rights and Freedoms.

The Supreme Court of Canada's unanimous decision was a defeat for the
Conservative government, which has said it favours prevention rather
than "harm-reduction" programs.

Insite, which opened in 2003, provides a haven for addicts to inject
drugs using sterile needles under a nurse's supervision.

The ruling could pave the way for similar facilities around the
country.

Dean Wilson, who has fought drug addiction for more than 40 years and
who has used the Insite facility, said the decision was a fitting
result after the long battle, first to get the facility in Vancouver's
drug-ravaged Downtown Eastside, then to keep it.

"It's a validation of all the stuff we worked (for)," Wilson said in
the foyer of the Supreme Court minutes after the decision came down.
"It's a miracle.

"We already won, no matter what the results were, because
statistically, eight or nine people a year would have died through the
overdoses we've prevented (at Insite). Over eight years, that's 72
lives and that's a win," he said.

"We won the day we opened that door."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the federal government is
"disappointed" with the decision.

"The preference of this government in dealing with drug crime is
obviously to prosecute those who sell drugs and create drug addiction
in our population and in our youth," Harper told reporters in Quebec
City.

He added that "when it comes to treating drug addiction, to try and do
so though programs of prevention and treatment rather than through the
issues that were in front of this court in terms of so-called harm
reduction."

Earlier Friday, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said the government
will comply with the Supreme Court ruling, but it will review the
decision as it considers its options.

Vancouver NDP MP Libby Davies noted that fatal drug overdoses have
dropped by more than a third since the facility opened in her riding
in 2003.

"This government has an opportunity here to take off their ideological
blinders and support a vital public service that has saved lives and
given people hope," she said.

The fate of Insite had been unclear since 2008, when the Conservative
government refused to renew a Health Canada exemption that permitted
it to operate in contravention of criminal drug laws.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court found the decision in 2008 not to
renew the site's exemption from drug laws violated the rights of
Insite users under Section 7 of the charter, which protects the "life,
liberty and security" of Canadians.

"It is arbitrary, undermining the very purposes of the CDSA, which
include public health and safety," the judges ruled.