The fate of a Vancouver safe-injection program for opiate addicts is likely to be decided by the Canadian Supreme Court, the Canadian Press reported July 3.

The Canadian government has appealed a ruling by the British Columbia Supreme Court that gave constitutional protection to the Insite program, ensuring that it would stay open even after a waiver of federal drug laws expired. The case is headed next to the B.C. Court of Appeal, but lawyer Monique Pongracic-Speier, who represents a group fighting to keep Insite open, said, "I think there is a realistic chance that this will go up to the Supreme Court of Canada."

"It's an extremely important constitutional issue and it is an issue that I believe the Supreme Court of Canada would find has a national interest," she said.

In May, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that current Canadian federal laws prohibiting drug trafficking and possession are unconstitutional and ordered the federal government to rewrite them. Federal health minister Tony Clement vowed to appeal the decision and see Insite shut down.

New Democrat member of Parliament Libby Davies said the government's appeal is political in nature. "It's not based on any evidence or any public policy issue, so I think that it's a colossal waste of time," Davies said. "Insite is part of the solution; it's not part of the problem. Why would the federal government spend all of this time and money to fight a battle they're going to lose anyway?"