B.C. Supreme Court saves InSite

Vancouver safe injection site protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Vancouver, May 28, 2008 – In a landmark ruling released yesterday, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that InSite, North America’s first safe injection site, is protected by the Canadian Constitution. 

In delivering its ruling, the court struck down those sections of the Canadian Drugs and Substances Act which prohibit the possession and handling of illegal narcotics within Insite.

Judge Pitfield, who issued the ruling, found that the blanket prohibition against the possession of narcotics contained in the CDSA effectively prohibits health interventions such as InSite, and thus violates section 7 of the Charter; the right to life, liberty, and security of the person. He stated:

Denial of access to Insite and safe injection for the reason stated by Canada, amounts to a condemnation of the consumption that led to addiction in the first place, while ignoring the resulting illness. While there is nothing to be said in favour of the injection of controlled substances that leads to addiction, there is much to be said against denying addicts health care services that will ameliorate the effects of their condition. Society does that for other substances such as alcohol and tobacco... Management of the harm in those cases is accepted as a community responsibility. I cannot see any rational or logical reason why the approach should be different when dealing with the addiction to narcotics… Simply stated, I cannot agree with the Canada’s submission that an addict must feed his addiction in an unsafe environment when a safe environment that may lead to rehabilitation is the alternative.

The court gave the federal government until June 30, 2009 to rewrite the CDSA to allow harm reduction initiatives such as safe injection sites. In the meantime, he granted Insite constitutional immunity from the CDSA in order for it to continue its operations.

Ann Livingston, coordinator the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and a long-time advocate for safe injection sites, stated simply: "People who use illegal drugs are finally being viewed as citizens who deserve healthcare."

The InSite legal challenge was undertaken by VANDU and the Portland Hotel Society.  VANDU was represented on a pro bono basis by Pivot Legal Society director John Conroy, QC. The Portland Hotel Society was represented pro bono by Monique Pongracic Spier, Drew Schroeder and Joe Arvay, Q.C.

Click here to read the full text of the decision (pdf 192 KB)

Listen to an interview with John Richardson after the May 27 announcement (6 minutes of 20-minute Pivot Podcast)