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'We wish Stephen Harper would stop wasting court time and the taxpayers' money and start helping to solve the drug problem in our community.' - Mark Townsend.
Ottawa (11 Feb. 2010) - The Harper Conservatives are asking the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal a lower court ruling that sanctioned Vancouver's supervised drug injection site.
The case has raised important questions about the division of powers among federal and provincial governments that need answers, according to a statement Tuesday by Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.
The B.C. Appeal Court ruled Jan. 15 that provinces, not the federal government, have jurisdiction for health care, which includes services such as supervised injection sites for addicts of illegal street drugs.
The decision upheld a lower court ruling but there was one dissenting opinion that Ottawa is using as the basis for its request to the country's top court.
Mark Townsend, executive director of Portland Hotel Society Community Services, which runs the Insite facility, was disappointed at the news.
"The courts have now ruled twice in favour of Insite. Last time, they thought the feds were so out of line they made them pay all the costs," he noted. "We wish Stephen Harper would stop wasting court time and the taxpayers' money and start helping to solve the drug problem in our community."
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