In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has granted users and staff at Insite, the Vancouver Safe Injecting Facility (SIF), a constitutional exemption from prosecution under federal drug laws. This decision prevents attempts by the Canadian government to shut down North America's only SIF.
The court challenge was taken by a number of groups, including the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, following threats by the Conservative government of Canada to rescind the license exempting Insite from various sections of the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), which enables the site to operate without fear of prosecution of service users or staff.
INSITE decision 2008 (PDF, 188 KB) Open in new tab