Safe injection site rule changes will help address 'overdose crisis,' Calgary group says

A Calgary group that supports people with HIV and hepatitis C is applaudinglegislative changesannounced by the federal governmentto speed up the process for opening safe injection sites.

"I think this is really positive news and a step towards addressing the overdose crisis," said Leslie Hill, executive director ofHIV Community Link, whichdoes prevention and education work in Calgary, Brooks and Medicine Hat.

"The rise in overdose deaths in Calgaryhas really brought this to the forefront in our community and created a lot of will to move forward with it," Hillsaid.

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Currently,the Respect for Communities Act, introduced in 2015, requires 26 criteria to be met before the federal government can begin considering a new safe injection site or "safe consumption site," as they are called by the federal government.

The 26 application criteria will be repealed entirely, Health Minister Jane Philpottannounced on Monday.

Bill C-37 would instead requirethose wishing to set up a safe injection siteto meet five benchmarks.

The first benchmark is demonstratingthe need for such a site to exist.

"In Calgary, we're at the first step of their requirement," Hill said.

HIV Community Link is working with other agencies to decide what should be done for safe drug injection sites in the province.

The Alberta government has set aside a $500,000 grant to assess the need in Calgary and other areas of Alberta.

"What happens after that is a result of that needs assessment process, but I anticipate this will speed up implementation," Hill said.

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