Ottawa council scraps crack pipe program

An Ottawaprogram that provides free crack pipes to drug userswill be discontinued,city council decided Wednesday.

Councillors voted 14-7 in favour of a motion by Coun. Rick Chiarelli to end the controversial program, which aims to cut down on the sharing of crack pipes that can spreadHIV and hepatitis C.

There is no evidence the program works, Chiarelli said, and it sends mixed messages, since people can be arrested for possessing the illegal drug.

"It's a poor use of tax dollars, it's poor messaging and it's poor leadership," he added.

The city's chief medical officer of health hasargued that the programstarted in 2005, which costs $30,000each year,has successfully reduced the spread of disease.

According to the City of Ottawa,the city pays only $7,500 annually for the program,as the rest is covered by the province of Ontario.

Chiarelli brought up the motion during a discussion about whether to pass the city's new integrated drug strategy.

Its "four-pillar" approach targets treatment, prevention, harm reduction and enforcement, and includes a recommendation for a review of the crack pipe program.

Councillors who voted to save the programargued it should have been reviewed by staff before it was cancelled outright.

After cancelling the crack pipe program, city council endorsed the rest of the integrated drug strategy, including a 48-bed residential treatment facility that the city wants the province to fund.

Sandy Hill business owners march to city hall

Thecouncildecisionsfollowed a news conference earlier in the day held bybusiness owners and homeowners in Ottawa's Sandy Hill neighbourhood, who called for anend to the program,whichthey said encouraged drug use.They later held a protest march to city hall.

The groupshowed videos of drug deals taking place in their lobbies and broken city-issued crack pipes picked up off their lawns.

Theysaid their community isoverrun by drug users, and that's hurting tourism and other business.

"King Edward is turning into Hastings and Main in Vancouver and is that what you want to see in your capital city?" asked Judy Armstrong, who runs the neighbourhood'sMcGee's Inn.

Her group called for a drugaddiction treatment centre outside the city's downtown core.

Mayor Larry O'Brien, who met with the marchers at city hall, agreed that the city needs a treatment centre andsaid changes were on the way to solve the city's drug problem.