Study says safe injection site could save Ottawa taxpayers
Posted Aug 6, 2014 05:59:10 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Backers for a safe injection site in Ottawa have a new argument.
According to a study released this week, opening and operating two medically supervised facilities could save Ottawa taxpayers $1 million per year.
The Simon Fraser University study compared the cost of running the facilities with the health care savings of averting HIV and Hepatitis C infections that can be contracted through dirty needles.
The study suggests that operating two clinics would cost $4 million annually — but save $5 million in health care costs.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and police chief Charles Bordeleau both oppose the opening of a safe injection site.
There is only one safe injection site in North America — the Insite Clinic in Vancouver — but so far politicians have rejected the call to open clinics in other Canadian cities.
