PILLARS' FOUNDATIONS STILL STANDING STRONG

Don't you dare tell Larry Campbell the Four Pillars approach is broken.

Like NPA mayor Philip Owen before him, Campbell was one of the
strategy's biggest proponents during his time as Vancouver mayor,
from 2002 to 2005.

Despite federal opposition to harm reduction and critics claiming the
policy is somehow broken, the senator is fiercely adamant the model works.

"How is it broken? More people are in shelter, overdose deaths are
dropping, HIV rates are dropping, people are getting into treatment.
Isn't that what we want?" asked Campbell. "[The opposition] is purely
political. It's not broken, we're not getting as much buzz anymore
because people know it works."

Before Insite opened in 2003, Campbell said officials had written off
the drugs, disorder and death plaguing the Downtown Eastside.

"When I was coroner it was every single day, there would be five or
six people dead, drugs sold in the open," he said.

Four Pillars may not be the buzzwords they used to be when the
concept was new, but Coun. Kerry Jang - a doctor and psychiatry
professor - says the strategy is at the heart of all of the city's
urban health, safety and housing initiatives.

"They're very much alive," he said. "You look at something like our
winter HEAT shelters, all four pillars are in place. It's become how
we do business."

Jang contends the Four Pillars have created a huge shift in the city,
while some argue there hasn't been enough of a shift.

NPA mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton has accused Mayor Gregor
Robertson of taking focus off drug policy in the past three years.

The policys author, Donald MacPherson, agrees Vision Vancouver has
shifted focus more on homelessness than drug policy, but still
believes both issues can be seamlessly integrated under Four Pillars.

On a national level, Campbell says the Supreme Court of Canada
decision on Insite has given other cities "the green light."

"There's interest in other cities. We're gong to see a real
blossoming," Campbell said. "Once you buy into things like Insite,
you buy into the rest of it because all four pillars are there."