The RCMP is defending its decision to commission reports that raised questions about Vancouver's safe drug injection site.
The Pivot Legal Society claims the Mounties misused public funds by paying for the reports in a bid to undermine the facility, called Insite.
It wants federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser to investigate because it says Insite -- the only facility of its kind in Canada -- is a health matter, not a policing one.
But Constable Annie Linteau says the RCMP consider Insite to be a policing issue and the force had a responsibility to get an assessment of the research behind the facility.
She says the Mounties paid $15,000 for the reports.
Pivot says one of the reports was done by an official of the Drug Prevention Network of Canada, headed by a former Conservative MP, and was used by Health Minister Tony Clement as proof that the research surrounding Insite was inconclusive.
Pivot also says RCMP e-mails have revealed the Mounties urged their officers to call a Vancouver radio talk show to voice opposition to Insite.
The society went public with the allegations Tuesday, saying at least two of the academic critiques were published at a time when a growing number of reports from respected scientific journals pointed to benefits for Insite.
With a report from The Canadian Press
