DRUGS AND MURDER
Yep, quite a year in the city.
A mega casino proposal, a riot, a protest camp and a civic election were some of the big stories the Courier highlighted in its annual Newsmaker of the Year issue.
Our choice, as you probably read, was social media and how it powered these events in a remarkable news year. Some of you agreed with our choice, others didn't. With so many stories making news this year, we were bound to forget some of the other important ones. I can now think of two-this always happens after deadline-that deserve a look back.
One: The Supreme Court of Canada's decision to allow the Insite drug injection site to remain open, despite a challenge from the Harper government.
Two: The opening of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry.
Both events resonated with communities in and out of the Downtown Eastside and made headlines nation-wide for the weight of the issues.
Insite allowed its first injection in September 2003.
I remember because I was there to take in the opening of what was-and still is, although Montreal is making a real push-the only legal supervised drug injection site in North America.
It opened as a three-year scientific study and its operating agreement kept getting extended until the federal government wanted to close its doors. Science versus ideology was at the root of the argument, with both sides questioning each other's views on the best way to tackle drug addiction.
Then along came Dean Wilson, whose junked-out ways were captured in the documentary Fix, and another heroin addict named Shelly Tomic. (Note: Last time I spoke to Wilson, he looked healthy and claimed he had been clean for several months).
The pair put their names to court documents drawn up by the co-operators of Insite-PHS Community Services Society-and the Attorney General of B.C. in a legal challenge to keep the facility open on East Hastings.
A favourable provincial court decision gave Insite momentum, only to be stalled by appeals by the federal government, which ultimately ended up in the Supreme Court of Canada.
On Sept. 30, the Supreme Court ruled that not allowing Insite to operate under an exemption from Canada's drug laws would violate users' Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A crowd gathered outside Insite on that day erupted in jubilance. The decision could lead to more injection sites opening in the city, although Mayor Gregor Robertson says he will only support more if Vancouver Coastal Health brings it forward as a priority.
The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry got off to a rocky start with several groups pulling out of the hearing and calling it "a sham." The Downtown Eastside Women's Centre was among the groups arguing that hiring lawyers would be too expensive and called on the provincial government to pay for legal bills.
So far, the inquiry has heard testimony from relatives of the missing and murdered women and Vancouver Police Department Deputy Chief Doug LePard. The inquiry is headed by Wally Oppal and among his tasks is to make findings respecting the conduct of police investigations into missing women from the Downtown Eastside between Jan. 23, 1997 and Feb. 5, 2002.
The disappearance of the missing women began in the 1990s and ended when RCMP arrested Pickton in February 2002. Pickton, a Port Coquitlam pig farmer, was charged with the murders of 26 women.
In December 2007, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for 25 years for the murder of six women who disappeared from the Downtown Eastside.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination is now said set to examine the issue of missing and murdered women across Canada.
The inquiry is adjourned until Jan. 11.
mhowell@vancourier.com
Twitter: @Howellings
