Monday, September 08, 2008

It's Liz Evans day...

Here's an article from the "Full Comment" section of the National Post from back in June. In it Ms. Evans describes addressing the House of Commons Health Committee. The article is from June, my personal crazy month, and got missed in the round-up.


Liz Evans: The Harper government is ignoring the evidence about Insite
Posted: June 03, 2008, 5:16 PM by Marni Soupcoff

I am trained as a nurse, not a lobbyist, so perhaps I was naive to think when I was invited last week to address the House of Commons Health Committee, along with a team of health and policy experts from Vancouver, that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government would listen to the facts about Insite. Instead we were lectured by federal Health Minister Tony Clement about how those supporting Insite, not the government, were ideologues. Apparently, Tony Clement and Stephen Harper really care about drug addiction, whereas we are the ones who endorse suffering.

I have never been so offended on behalf of so many people. I wanted to weep at the implications of our government’s collective ignorance. The committee offered statement after statement that was plain wrong and a huge affront to the legions of researchers, public health officials, medical scientists, nurses, doctors and numerous international bodies (such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization) who have long endorsed harm reduction strategies as essential to assisting those with drug addictions.

OK, so they didn’t have to listen to me. But what about listening to one of the world’s most renowned doctors and researchers in the treatment of HIV and AIDS? Or the federally funded researcher who has produced more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific papers? What about the officer from the Vancouver Police Department, who explained that Insite and local police work together to limit public disorder? What about B.C.’s premier and minister of health, or Vancouver’s mayor and chief of police? And If not any of them, then what about the three out of every four people in the region surveyed in a recent Angus Reid poll who support Insite?

When first questioned about Insite, the Prime Minister said he would wait for word from the RCMP before commenting. When those results came in, they were not released because they were deemed to be too positive. Last year, Stephen Harper’s politically appointed expert advisory committee concluded that InSite causes no adverse affect on drug use or crime, that it acts as a deterrent to drug use and that Insite encourages users to seek detox and treatment. Eighty per cent of people interviewed thought the site should be expanded or retained and more than half of the police officers interviewed thought that Insite should remain open. How is it possible that the voluminous amounts of research and policy written over the years could be completely ignored?

Judge Pitfield of the B.C. Supreme Court, in his wisdom, understood something that Stephen Harper seems incapable of grasping: Addiction is a complex, chronic and relapsing disease. Justice Pitfield’s ruling to protect InSite under the Charter recognizes its essential role as a primary health care facility and a necessary access point to treatment for people who are clearly sick. The fact that Stephen Harper wants to appeal this decision shows he is continuing to ignore the evidence. The Harper government is displaying arrogance in the face of an issue they are clearly out of touch with.

— Liz Evans is a nurse and the executive director of the PHS Community Services Society, which operates Insite, Vancouver’s supervised injection site, in co- operation with the B.C. government.

Liz Evans responds to Clement's remarks to the CMA

Liz Evans of PHS writes to the Ottawa Citizen about Insite:

The facts are in about Insite
The Ottawa Citizen Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the Canadian public he would make a decision about Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection site, after all the research is in.

The research is in and indicates Insite saves lives, saves tax dollars, reduces public disorder, deters drug use, has not attracted new drug users and helps users of the site find detox and treatment options. Insite has taken one million injections out of our back alleys, and no one has died.

For Health Minister Tony Clement to question the moral judgment of health professionals who support Insite ignores millions of dollars' worth of research and evaluation.

Peer-reviewed, non-partisan researchers, unbiased medical professionals and the people who make use of Insite all tell the same story: supervised injection sites work. They reduce deaths from overdoses, giving users another day to seek treatment; they help keep needles off the streets; they help prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases associated with drug use.

Mr. Harper and his health minister are using fear in an attempt to cloud the facts. Mr. Harper, we at Insite again extend to you, or any member of your government, the opportunity to see our facility and the work that is done here, so you can understand the importance of our work.

The reality is: Insite provides one piece of the complex puzzle needed to help some Canadians overcome drug addiction. To be rehashing the same old arguments against harm reduction is depressingly immoral and unethical. What Canada needs is a real comprehensive strategy to address drug addiction.

Liz Evans,

Vancouver nurse and Executive Director of the PHS Community Services Society which operates InSite.


**Update**

For clarity, here is a similar letter that was published in the National Post:

Insite criticism based on ideology, not science


National Post Published: Saturday, August 23, 2008

Stephen Harper said he would make a decision about Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection site, after all the research was in.

The research is in and it shows that Insite saves lives, saves tax dollars, reduces public disorder, acts as a deterrent to drug use and helps users of the site find detox and treatment options. Because of this evidence, 80% of health professionals support Insite. Why, then, is Mr. Harper's Federal Health Minister calling this support for Insite "unethical"?

Mr. Harper and his Health Minister are using fear in an attempt to cloud the facts. The people Tony Clement calls junkies and who he thinks should be jailed are our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. Ask any mother whose child survived addiction because of Insite and they will tell you about the importance of this facility.

The reality is that Insite provides one piece of the complex puzzle needed to help some Canadians overcome drug addiction. To be rehashing the same old arguments against harm-reduction is depressingly immoral and unethical. What Canada needs is a comprehensive strategy to address drug addiction.

Liz Evans (executive director of the PHS Community Services Society which operates Insite), Vancouver.
© National Post 2008