Insite Hearings on CPAC

I have never seen so much enthusiasm over access to judicial hearings as I have this past week. The Supreme Court of Canada heard the appeal of the B.C. Court of Appeal’s decision in Attorney General of Canada, et al. v. PHS Community Services Society, et al., dealing with the safe injection site in Vancouver known as Insite.

The case deals with ss. 4(1) and 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and an exemption under s. 56, which allowed the clinic to stay open.

The buzz extended well beyond the legal community, and included poverty and substance abuse advocates and significant participation from the medical community. I was fortunate enough to attend the hearings in B.C. last summer and shared my notes here.

Those able to tear themselves away from work during the week were able to tune in on CPAC. For the rest of us, we can catch the repeat this morning at 1:57 PM ET / 10:57 AM PT.

From the CPAC site:

The Supreme Court heard arguments concerning the future of Insite, Vancouver’s supervised drug injection facility. Canada’s highest court must decide if Insite falls under provincial or federal jurisdiction and whether closing it violates the rights of drug addicts. The federal government is appealing the B.C. Court of Appeal’s 2010 decision to allow Insite to remain open. The B.C. court had ruled that Insite is a health care facility and falls under provincial jurisdiction.

Open since 2003, Insite allows addicts to inject their own illicit drugs in a supervised environment. It is North America’s first legal supervised injection site, and also provides health and counselling services. Insite had been operating under an exemption from being prosecuted under federal drug laws and was granted two extensions. It received a permanent exemption in 2010 from the B.C. Supreme Court after its temporary extension was set to expire in 2008 and the federal Conservative government did not extend the exemption.

PHS Community Services Society operates Insite in conjunction with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.