A UBC expert says drug busts like those announced yesterday by RCMP in BC are ineffective at combating toxic drug deaths and reducing drug related societal problems. Mark Haden with the university’s school of population and public health says research has shown that police drug enforcement actions do little to decrease drug supply or demand. He says they also don’t reduce overdose deaths or HIV infection rates. Haden says health-related measures to combat the toxic drug crisis would be a better use of public funds.
RCMP say they’re looking for the owners of a large amount of stolen property they’ve recovered. Mounties say that a number of homes under construction were targeted by thieves in Burnaby, Coquitlam, and West Vancouver between September 2022 and February. Police say the thieves made off with high-end appliances, furniture, and fixtures including stoves, fridges, toilets, and plumbing fixtures still in their original packaging.
The mayor of the village of Mayo in Yukon says he supports the declaration of a state of emergency by a First Nation due to rampant opioid use in the community. Trevor Ellis says the emergency declared by the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun comes after the village’s drug problem got out of hand. Ellis says it has been dealing with overdoses, suicides, and violence including two recent murders believed to be drug related. The First Nation says it will meet with the territorial government and police to make a plan to combat drug-related problems in the community.
The City of Vancouver and the federal government say a 36 million dollar investment will go toward improving water quality and climate change resistance. The city and the feds say it will be part of Vancouver’s rain city strategy aimed at using “natural infrastructure” to combat urban flooding. They say the strategy’s goal is to capture and clean a large proportion of the city’s rainfall through the use of absorbent landscaping and rainwater trenches.
The Tsilhqot’in (Tsill-COAT-ten) National Government says it wants the BC and federal government to revoke all permits and licences issued to a cattle firm after its owner recently pleaded guilty to Fisheries Act violations. The First Nation says Felix Schellenberg admitted in February to destroying fish habitat and infilling fish channels around the Kleena Kleene and Little Chilcotin rivers. It says Schellenberg owns the businesses Pasture to Plate and the Rafter 25 Ranch, and was fined 460 thousand dollars in addition to remediation costs for the habitat destruction. Chief Joe Alphonse says Schellenberg destroyed kilometres of important Chinook salmon habitat to expand a hay field.
The City of Victoria says it’s preparing a bylaw to reduce single-use food waste. City council has voted to develop new rules for businesses, compelling them to only offer reusable dishware to on site diners and only offer things like stir sticks and straws to customers who ask for them. It says a study by the Capital Regional District found that more than 200-thousand single-use items such as food containers, drink cups, and cutlery are thrown away daily in Victoria. Mayor Marianne Alto says alternatives to single-use items have a clear benefit to keeping the city’s streets clean while reducing needless waste.