Abbotsford must defend its drug users bylaw before B.C. Human Rights Tribunal

The City of Abbotsford will have to defend its anti-harm reduction bylaw to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal against allegations it discriminates against drug users.

The tribunal has accepted a B.C./Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors complaint on behalf of three Abbotsford drug users alleging that the city acted outside of its jurisdiction, violated Charter rights and breached the Human Rights Code.

Barry Shantz of the Drug War Survivors group said the tribunal’s acceptance of the complaint is a positive step in breaking down the stigma and discrimination he says drug users face in Abbotsford.

Shantz said the city needs to treat drug addiction as a medical issue, not a criminal one, arguing that rigorous medical research on Insite, Vancouver’s supervised injection site, has proven the facility reduces needle-sharing and overdose deaths.

“For the complaint to be accepted is a win in itself,” he told The Province. “We have all of the expert witness at our fingertips yet our communities ignore it and go in the opposite way, and they support the war on drugs.”

The group is looking at including more B.C. communities in the complaint now that it has been accepted, he said.

The tribunal is expected to hear the complaint early next year.

Abbotsford amended its zoning bylaw in 2005. At the time, Abbotsford councillors made it clear they were changing the city’s bylaw to prevent harm-reduction services, like passing out clean needles and crack pipes, from starting in their community after the controversial opening of Insite two years earlier.

The Fraser Health Authority has said it cannot launch the needle-distribution program it already has planned for Abbotsford while the bylaw still stands. But community groups have been quietly contravening the bylaw.

In 2010, Abbotsford reviewed the bylaw at the request of Fraser Health. In its review, the city denied the bylaw violates the rights of drug users.

“The provisions of the bylaw relating to harm-reduction use are directed to promoting the orderly, efficient and reasonable use of land within the defendant’s boundaries,” the document stated.

On Thursday, a Fraser Health spokeswoman said the authority is committed to working with Abbotsford to expand access to harm reduction and stop the spread of disease.

“Harm reduction services provide a vital tool in combating the spread of disease and connecting users to substance abuse treatment and other social and medical services,” wrote Erin Labbe in an email.

A request for comment from the City of Abbotsford was not immediately returned.

(2013-07-19/theprovince)