addiction
Victoria seeks backing for mandatory needle exchange
By Roszan Holmen - Victoria NewsThe mayor and four Victoria councillors plan to attend the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, at a cost of $6,700.
One purpose of the convention is to identify common concerns to collectively lobby provincial and federal governments.
Victoria is putting forward six resolutions for adoption.
They include a resolution to urge the B.C. government to provide base harm-reduction services, such as needle exchange and other safe-substance use equipment, in every municipality across the province, despite any local political pressure against the initiative.
Province discriminates against addicts, court finds
By: Tracey Tyler, The StarDenying long-term government support payments to alcoholics and drug addicts violates the province’s Human Rights Code because it discriminates on the basis of disability, the Ontario Court of Appeal has affirmed.
In a 3-0 decision Thursday, the court dismissed an appeal from the director of the Ontario Disability Support Program, who argued that provincial legislation preventing addicts from drawing long-term disability benefits was meant to assist them in their recovery.
Jody Paterson: The real reason we don't solve problems
My late father took to calling me "Little Miss Know-It-All" once I became a columnist. My mother still teases me about it.
It's a funny thing, being an opinion writer. You have to be out there with something to say -- otherwise, what's the point? It seems I'm always weighing in on one thing or another, and never mind that I might not have known the first thing about the subject prior to that.
I wish I really did know it all. But what journalists are good at is identifying problems. That doesn't mean we know how to solve them.
Homelessness can be addressed
By David Stevenson, Comox Valley EchoI am writing to clarify for your readers the causes of homelessness in the Comox Valley. This is in response to comments made by 2 of Courtenay's Councillors as reported in the press last June. Councillor Jangula does not think we can afford to end homelessness and Councillor Presley believes that "You'll never end homelessness. Some people choose to be homeless". Attitudes like this are part of the reason why we have 200 to 300 homeless people in the CV and people begging daily on the streets of Courtenay.
For the decriminalization of vice
By Dan Delmar, The MetropolitainNot all that is immoral should be illegal. Behaviour deemed unacceptable by traditionalists, or even by the majority, is routinely the subject of fodder for the “There Ought To Be A Law” crowd, simply because it offends their delicate sensibilities. Rarely is there a debate about the consequences to maintaining the charade of the War on (insert vice here) and the effects of said war, which most often are in complete contradiction to the stated goals.
As a part of its Tough on Crime agenda, the Conservative government quietly amended the Criminal Code of Canada over the summer. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said it was to target gangs.
Jail or support for brain-injury victims?
By Geoff Sing, Times ColonistThe federal government has announced plans to spend $105 million on prison expansions for three prisons. It projects a 25 per cent increase in prisoners over the next few years.
On the surface, this solution might sound proactive, but it is not.
In recent years, programs and services for the brain-injured were reduced dramatically. Statistics show that many of the individuals in our prisons have sustained a brain injury in their lifetime.
First-of-its-kind study shows supervised injection facilities can help people quit drugs
BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDSVancouver, BC, September 13, 2010 – A study led by researchers at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) at St. Paul’s Hospital and the University of British Columbia has found that supervised injection facilities such as Vancouver’s Insite connect clients with addiction treatment, which in turn resulted in greater likelihood of stopping injection drug use for at least six months.
The study, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, is the first ever to examine the link between a supervised injection facility and injection cessation.
20 years after Dr. Peter, we need leadership to fight HIV-AIDS
By: Maxine Davis, Globe and MailTwenty years ago, when AIDS was a fearsome disease, Peter Jepson-Young spoke directly to British Columbians on the CBC’s evening news. “I am going to introduce you to someone who has AIDS,” he said. “I’m a doctor, but I’m also a patient … a patient with AIDS.”
It was a profound act of courage in an era when being gay was not openly talked about, let alone having HIV-AIDS. Discrimination was rampant – some government officials said people with HIV-AIDS should be banished to a remote island. His parents feared for his safety, and the doctor himself kept his last name hidden, even while inviting the spotlight on television.
British Columbia: 'The province that doesn't look after its kids'
Contrary to British Columbia’s glossy marketing campaign, the province isn’t the best place on earth, at least if you happen to be a poor child. In fact, for seven years running, B.C. has had the highest child-poverty rate in Canada.
The National Council of Welfare, an advisory body to the federal government, says that during the boom years from the mid-1990s to 2007, child poverty rates in B.C. diverged from those of other provinces.
“In 1999, as the national poverty rate fell, the rate in British Columbia jumped up to 16.4 per cent, making it the highest in Canada for the first time, [and] it remains the highest in the country despite strong economic and employment growth in the province,” the council said. Read more »
Victoria decides to hear public before passing no-camping zone bylaw
The public will have a chance to wade into the debate before Victoria councillors make boulevards and medians no-camping zones.
With about a dozen poverty activists looking on, city councillors Thursday decided to support an amendment to the city's streets and traffic bylaw prohibiting camping in road allowances. But they delayed the final two readings of the bylaw until after a public hearing to be held Sept. 23.
Only Coun. Philippe Lucas was against the bylaw.
"I won't be supporting this motion because I honestly believe it will fail to address for the better the issues faced by residents, by businesses and by the individuals currently living on Pandora Green," Lucas said.
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