Councillor says council needs to make sure it doesn't open drug crime 'floodgates'
Paul Fontaine, The Times
Published: Friday, June 26, 2009
At around 4:30 p.m. last Thursday four sex trade workers line Pauline Street in downtown Abbotsford.
Barry Shantz, a member of the Abbotsford Mental Health and Addictions Working Group (MHAWG), said a local bylaw is preventing addicts and mentally ill people in the community from getting the services they need.
"I am tired of providing harm reduction supplies . . . in fear of punishment. It's time for Abbotsford to give realistic consideration toward its community's health and to adopt the compassionate harm reduction approach," said Shantz.
The bylaw, adopted in 2005, prevents needle exchanges, mobile services, free-standing methadone clinics, safe injection sites and other similar facilities in the city.
Shantz said he has been supplying harm reduction supplies, including needles and condoms, for the past nine months and would like to see the bylaw addressed.
"I've never heard of anybody coming down on it, but I've also never heard of anybody being blatant and saying, 'come get your needles here,'" said Shantz.
Abbotsford Coun. John Smith, who is also chair of the Abbotsford social development advisory committee (ASDAC), said the bylaw hasn't come up at the council table, but has been discussed at the ASDAC meetings.
Smith said while he is not in favour of needle exchange, the bylaw has to be reviewed.
"There are some issues of dealing with that bylaw that need to be tweaked to allow low barrier facilities for addicts," said the city councillor.
"The reality is we have them living in our city and the reality is we have them living, in some cases, under bridges."
Milt Walker, chair of the MHAWG and executive director of Kinghaven Treatment Centre, said a main issue with harm reduction is lack of education about the subject to the community at large.
To remedy that, Walker said the MHAWG is holding a forum in October to let people talk openly about harm reduction.
"There's a huge misunderstanding about what harm reduction actually is," said Walker. "Car seats for infants are harm reduction, seatbelts are harm reduction. I think what people have done is equate harm reduction with supervised injection sites, but they are a miniscule part of harm reduction."
The MHAWG is funded through the Fraser Health Authority, so Walker said they have naturally taken on the Fraser Health model for harm reduction as their guide.
Smith said Fraser Health sees the bylaw as it is set up now as a barrier.
"I think that Fraser Health Authority have seen that bylaw as an impediment to their putting resources in the community," said Smith, adding the priority is getting improved facilities "to deal with the reality of addictions in our city."
Jason Wilcox, a local harm reduction advocate, said resources like free condoms are essential not only in protecting sex trade workers, but the community at large.
"Some of these girls we know are carrying viruses," said Wilcox. He said most addicts won't spend money on condoms.
"They'll buy a lighter before they buy a condom," added Shantz. "You can hate dope fiends as much as you want, but you have to protect other people in the community."
Smith said many of the city councillors have strong feelings on the subject, but want to act in the best interests of the community. At the same time, he added, they don't want to create a larger problem.
"They need to be satisfied that they aren't opening the floodgates to a permissive, drug-dealing society."
At this point, the October forum is set to happen at Abbotsford Community Services.
