The Hook

Federal Liberals appear to be trying to goad new federal Conservative candidate Lorne Mayencourt into a policy battle over Insite.

The Grits have released a video on YouTube showing members of its Young Liberals group questioning Mayencourt on Vancouver's supervised injection site.

Mayencourt can be heard saying he has "nothing to say about" the legal fight over Insite, which has seen the Conservative party go to court to overrule a B.C. ruling that has kept Insite open.

But speaking with 24 hours yesterday, Mayencourt called the web video "disingenuous."

"I think what they've done here is just destroyed their credibility with me completely," he said.

Mayencourt said he told the picketers that Insite has "overstated" its success. And the former provincial backbencher said he'd like to see the facility focus on recovery rather than providing safe injection services. As an MLA, Mayencourt sat in the provincial government that officially endorses Insite but his new federal party has been less supportive.

The Liberals claim the video shows Mayencourt has been muzzled on Insite. "Either he's being muzzled or he's being silent," said Vancouver-South Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh. "And you can't be silent in this election."

Sean Holman and Irwin Loy write for Vancouver's 24 hours.