Those are excellent questions, and it gives me an opportunity to clarify that there will still be an application process involved that speaks to how the minister will get information to be able to make sure that those five factors have been appropriately considered. There will be guidance within the application process to show things like whether an impact on crime could be demonstrated. Some of it could be by, for example, having correspondence related to the chief of police in that particular area. There will be ways that we will support communities to be able to demonstrate that they have met the specific factors given by the Supreme Court.
The point that you raise is a very interesting one in terms of sometimes hesitation on behalf of law enforcement as to whether or not this is a helpful mechanism. I would encourage members, if you ever possibly can and you're in Vancouver, to go visit some of these long-standing supervised consumption sites like Insite. It has been established since 2003. You cannot help but be moved by this place, where people are greeted at the door in a non-judgmental way, where they make every effort to reduce the stigma associated with problematic substance use, and where people are welcomed and given an opportunity to be introduced to the health care system at the point that they are ready.
Anyway, I could go on and on about how impressed I was by the work of Insite and how I really see it as being a helpful resource in that community.
The interesting thing that happened in Vancouver is that there was.... You're right, there was not 100% community support at the time that it was originally approved, but all evidence says that many, many people who were initially skeptical about whether or not this would be helpful in terms of decreasing crime rates or decreasing, for instance, the number of dirty needles that were in local parks, etc., have come around. The community support and the support from law enforcement, in particular the Vancouver police, is absolutely stunning. People are convinced that this has been an effective mechanism, and there have been zero deaths despite the fact that there are literally hundreds of people who use these services every day. I would certainly encourage law enforcement officials in other communities who are skeptical to go and see what an effective site can look like.