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A local community group said it’s a shame that Mayor Jim Watson and police chief Charles Bordeleau gave “knee-jerk” reactions Wednesday opposing supervised injection sites in Ottawa.

Caleb Chepesiuk, a member of Campaign for Safer Consumption Sites in Ottawa, said he wants to keep the discussion going on whether Ottawa should have such sites, even if Watson and Bordeleau are against them.

A team of researchers Wednesday recommended the creation of two supervised injection facilities in Ottawa and three in Toronto.

After what is thought to be the broadest study of its kind, the researchers concluded that such facilities would improve the health and reduce harm among drug users. They could also reduce public drug use and save money for the health system, they said.

By Julia Burpee

“Addiction is a really lonely thing. You think you’re basically the only person on the planet … that’s the way I felt,” says Sean LeBlanc, 37, explaining that five years ago he was homeless and injecting heroin every day.

Harm reduction services helped him recover from his addiction, he says. Safe needle exchanges operated out of community health centres and mobile vans, referrals to addictions treatment, community outreach workers and peer support groups are part of the harm reduction public health model.

Last week's unanimous Supreme Court decision that allows Vancouver to operate Insite, North America's first supervised injection site, was a victory for harm reduction and a ringing endorsement for a more sensible approach to illicit drug use in Canada. The court battle essentially pitted a highly successful evidence-based program that saves lives, reduces drug use, and connects drug users to health care services against our federal government's commitment to stopping drug use through criminal deterrents.