Feds pony up $10M to battle addiction in Vancouver

The federal government is putting up $10 million to fund new programs to battle drug addiction in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

However, none of the cash will go to Insite, the controversial supervised safe-injection site that has won praise from Premier Gordon Campbell but drawn fire from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has called it a "second-best strategy at best."

At a news conference in Vancouver on Wednesday, federal Health Minister Tony Clement said the new treatment services will include "an Assertive Community Treatment [ACT] team of professionals, and 20 new treatment beds dedicated to vulnerable female drug addicts."

A news release on the federal government's website said the ACT team will offer a multidisciplinary staff of approximately 12 people representing the fields of psychiatry, medicine, nursing and rehabilitation, and a round-the-clock service capacity of 70 to 75 clients with the most severe functional impairments, who do not access traditional mental health and addictions services.

The new treatment beds will provide transitional abstinence-based treatment service for concurrent disorders, the release said, and offer a stable environment for the most marginalized and disadvantaged women living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan, a long-time supporter of Insite, said he isn't worried Wednesday's announcement is the government's way of deflecting criticism should it decide to close the site at the end of June.

"There are very valuable opportunities to help people get off of drugs through Insite, but with ACT teams [and] with the treatment beds for women, the goal is getting them off of drugs — getting them out of that situation," the mayor said.

The program will be funded over five years in partnership with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, the federal news release said, adding Clement and B.C. Health Minister George Abbott are finalizing the agreement for implementation of the new services.