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Memorial in Vancouver. Photo by REUTERS. Click the image to go to the original Telegraph item.[/caption]
The bull-headedness of Albertans in general, and Calgarians in particular, cuts both ways; praiseworthy when Calgary Stampede organizers didn't let the recent severe flooding of their fair city stand in the way of holding their world-famous rodeo on time, "come hell, or high water.". And downright blameworthy the way Calgary Herald writer, Licia Corbella didn't let facts stand in the way of of her assertion, in a recent newspaper column, that Vancouver's permissive drug culture helped kill Glee actor, and singer, Cory Monteith. On July 13, 2013, the 31-year-old Calgary-born actor was found dead in his hotel room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in downtown Vancouver. On July 15, the B.C. Coroner’s autopsy report stated Monteith died from "a mixed drug toxicity" consisting of heroin and alcohol. Monteith had reportedly struggled with addiction for a decade.
In a Friday, July 19 column in the Calgary Herald -- widely syndicated --, Licia Corbella bluntly asserted the actor got the drugs from Insite, the supervised, safe injection site, located in the Downtown Eastside, about 1.4 km from Monteith's hotel, as the crow flies.
This despite the well-known fact that Insite neither sells, nor supplies drugs. Corbella then goes on to explain that Vancouverites from all walks of life know the Downtown Eastside is the place to buy drugs, and then, she baldly declares that Monteith likely wouldn’t have been able to find heroin if he were visiting any other Canadian city -- apparently a former Toronto heroin addict told the writer she couldn't find the drug while in Montreal (that would be héroïne) If so, perhaps it's because Montrealers have found something stronger.
The cheap shot story was widely condemned in the press, and across social media, but reportedly, Corbella (bull-headedly) stands by her claims, even as she admits she knew people couldn't buy drugs from the supervised injection site.
Aarrrg! This from a self-proclaimed journalist, who, on her Twitter page, lists herself as "editorial page editor at the Calgary Herald," and says she "has been a journalist in Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary for 26 years."
Corbella essentially defends her column on the basis that it wasn't about facts, but rather her opinion.
That was a rhetorical question by the way. Corbella is rehashing the stock Conservative view that addicts should be left to their fate; treating them like human beings is a waste of time, and taxpayers dollars. It's a superficial, knee-jerk argument, particularly when it's aimed at Insite, which has proven time and again that it achieves it's core goals: saving lives; reducing the spread of disease, and illness, and connecting addicts to beneficial social services. And let's be blunt: If Cory Monteith had used Insite's safe injection facilities, he would still be alive.
Corbella's right-wing take on Monteith's unfortunate, and untimely death has earned her many angry, and even threatening emails. Speaking of one such message, she says:
She could just as well be describing herself, as far as I'm concerned, and it does bother me. I think Conservatism does have reasonable points to make about the need for self responsibility, and the dangers of a nanny-state approach, but today's Conservatives seem to be anything but reasonable.
Memorial in Vancouver. Photo by REUTERS. Click the image to go to the original Telegraph item.[/caption]The bull-headedness of Albertans in general, and Calgarians in particular, cuts both ways; praiseworthy when Calgary Stampede organizers didn't let the recent severe flooding of their fair city stand in the way of holding their world-famous rodeo on time, "come hell, or high water.". And downright blameworthy the way Calgary Herald writer, Licia Corbella didn't let facts stand in the way of of her assertion, in a recent newspaper column, that Vancouver's permissive drug culture helped kill Glee actor, and singer, Cory Monteith. On July 13, 2013, the 31-year-old Calgary-born actor was found dead in his hotel room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in downtown Vancouver. On July 15, the B.C. Coroner’s autopsy report stated Monteith died from "a mixed drug toxicity" consisting of heroin and alcohol. Monteith had reportedly struggled with addiction for a decade.
In a Friday, July 19 column in the Calgary Herald -- widely syndicated --, Licia Corbella bluntly asserted the actor got the drugs from Insite, the supervised, safe injection site, located in the Downtown Eastside, about 1.4 km from Monteith's hotel, as the crow flies.
“It’s unlikely that the 31-year-old would have risked bringing hard drugs across the border from his home in the United States, so it’s safe to assume he either picked some up himself or had a gofer do it for him by visiting Insite.”
This despite the well-known fact that Insite neither sells, nor supplies drugs. Corbella then goes on to explain that Vancouverites from all walks of life know the Downtown Eastside is the place to buy drugs, and then, she baldly declares that Monteith likely wouldn’t have been able to find heroin if he were visiting any other Canadian city -- apparently a former Toronto heroin addict told the writer she couldn't find the drug while in Montreal (that would be héroïne) If so, perhaps it's because Montrealers have found something stronger.
The cheap shot story was widely condemned in the press, and across social media, but reportedly, Corbella (bull-headedly) stands by her claims, even as she admits she knew people couldn't buy drugs from the supervised injection site.
“That was probably clumsily worded. I should have said ‘bought drugs in the area surrounding Insite.”
Aarrrg! This from a self-proclaimed journalist, who, on her Twitter page, lists herself as "editorial page editor at the Calgary Herald," and says she "has been a journalist in Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary for 26 years."
Corbella essentially defends her column on the basis that it wasn't about facts, but rather her opinion.
“This wasn’t a column about studies. I know that using a clean needle is better than using a dirty one,” she said. “I get that, but what is this doing? Is this creating more addicts?”
That was a rhetorical question by the way. Corbella is rehashing the stock Conservative view that addicts should be left to their fate; treating them like human beings is a waste of time, and taxpayers dollars. It's a superficial, knee-jerk argument, particularly when it's aimed at Insite, which has proven time and again that it achieves it's core goals: saving lives; reducing the spread of disease, and illness, and connecting addicts to beneficial social services. And let's be blunt: If Cory Monteith had used Insite's safe injection facilities, he would still be alive.
Corbella's right-wing take on Monteith's unfortunate, and untimely death has earned her many angry, and even threatening emails. Speaking of one such message, she says:
“To me, it’s just an ignorant person who has troubles expressing themselves. It doesn’t really bother me.”
She could just as well be describing herself, as far as I'm concerned, and it does bother me. I think Conservatism does have reasonable points to make about the need for self responsibility, and the dangers of a nanny-state approach, but today's Conservatives seem to be anything but reasonable.
I would like to add something about the way I see Licia Corbella framing her right-wing argument in leftist terms. To slam Insite, and the easy access to illegal drugs it represents for her, Corbella has had to take the position that Monteith wasn't responsible for his accidental, fatal, drug overdose -- government was. Conservatives put great weight on personal responsibility; blaming others for the choices a drug addict makes, doesn't normally wash with conservative ideology, yet, rather than take the position that Monteith bears sole responsibility for his death because he chose to be a drug addict, Corbella is essentially saying Monteith was a victim of his environment; his death, and thus, his addiction, is the fault of society.
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Thanks for sharing this. I have always found it infuriating that the Conservatives keep trying to shut down Insite again and again. There is so much research around in Europe that really, all you need is being able to read to understand why this works and abstinence strategies don't.
Ramona
Conservatives appear to me, to just not get it. I do not see that Insite is about coddling addicts. To me it's as much about protecting society-at-large from the harms of drug addiction, as it is about reducing the harm suffered by drug addicts themselves.