Overdose crisis resolution to be brought before council committee
By Tim Kalinowski on May 25, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com
The Community Safety Standing Policy Committee of city council will be considering a resolution brought forward by national harm reduction advocacy group Moms Stop The Harm during Wednesday’s public meeting.
In broad strokes the resolution asks for city council’s support in advocating to the federal government that a state of national emergency be declared around the opioid overdose crisis, for the federal government to start providing a safe supply of narcotics to those addicted to drugs, and for the eventual decriminalization of narcotics for personal use in Canada.
“We sent this out to municipalities all across Canada, and it’s a resolution we are asking the City to write to the federal government,” says Lori Hatfield of Moms Stop The Harm Lethbridge.
“As of May 17, thirty-seven municipalities have passed a part of our resolution calling for a federal-provincial overdose plan that includes consideration of decriminalization and legal regulation. And 13 municipalities have passed part of Moms Stop The Harm’s resolution or taken other actions. And four municipal bodies have passed their own resolution.
“We do have municipalities coming on board with this resolution and we’re hoping the City of Lethbridge gives it full consideration as well,” she says.
Hatfield says building local support of these initiatives is key to pressuring the federal government to take action and provide the necessary funding to address the national drug crisis.
“We know that if enough municipalities make this an issue and bring it forward federally then it has a more likely chance of being heard,” she confirms. “It is (mainly) about declaring a public health emergency because funding is handled differently if it is declared a public health emergency. And it is about having a safe supply and also about decriminalization. And it is about looking at how other countries have evidence-based programs they have done that have proven to be successful. Because the bottom-line is what we are doing is not working, and nobody can dispute that.”
Hatfield acknowledges the local debates which have been raging the past two years within the city surrounding harm reduction, the SCS, and the general lack of comprehensive supports in Lethbridge for those dealing with addictions.
“It has been made into a political matter, and it really isn’t,” she states. “It is a public health issue. If the communities are so against safe consumption sites, providing safe supply would take away that need, because people wouldn’t be using a toxic drug supply that is out there on the street.”
Hatfield says Moms Stop The Harm has submitted the exact same resolution to many municipalities, but the organization does not feel the resolution has to be adopted verbatim if the Community Safety Standing Policy Committee would like to adopt some parts, for example support for declaration of a national health emergency, and not others.
“It’s not written in stone,” she says. “They can tailor it to what they feel comfortable (supporting).”
The Community Safety Standing Policy Committee meets on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
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Follow @TimKalHerald on Twitter
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Just another effort by another organization to have municipalities take the responsibility for the addicts that they had nothing to do in creating. This group attempts to manipulate the hearts and minds of residents into participating in a process that puts ZERO responsibility on the addict and 100% responsibility for THEIR problems on the residents.
So with this resolution it is just another step in their hopes that one day that from birth to death society takes care of every addict until at some spurious time of night or day, he/she decides to rehab, then by God we must have a bed available for that addict ASAP or we lose the window of opportunity to do the rehab.
In the end MSTH and all the other organizations never actually post nor promote Rehab numbers after 2 years because the numbers are so embarrassing that if the world at large was aware, they would question this entire process.
MSTH will not discuss numbers so would prefer to bury Bourgue’s Claims of thousands of lives saved per month while the SCS was operating, yet thousands did not die when they closed up shop? Now we are to support the procurement of clean drugs so the one thing that addicts fear the most after Rehab which is death, is removed from the table. Remove death, and you have another open ticket for experimentation by more and more, soon to be addicts! The only deterrent in probably 90% of the cases of pending leaps to hard drugs is the fear of death from bad drugs. Remove that and its a free for all for all of the Children who can’t decide what gender they are, what they should have sex with, or whether its against there human rights to actually work for a living? etc etc. Be very careful of this and other organizations, they open the door to a future Plague far greater then the one we now have! Of course the medical society who garner 90% of the profits from the recycled Rehab system in place will stand up and promote this next stage of fiasco in this plea for total support!
Councillors have no experience in this so a few teary eyed members will likely sway them into signing up Lethbridge for ANYTHING!
MSTH is all about “addicts deserve respect” and have never quite realized that respect is earned and addicts have no interest in EARNING IT. So if you can convince the masses that a person who is pizzing away his/her life on a daily basis, and cannot seem to remember where toilets are and where to puke that this person DESERVES RESPECT, then you are halfway to having society to care for this failure for the rest of their natural life. Be assured that is exactly what MSTH wants, society to care for addicts cradle to grave. Always remember this, a drug addict who pizzes away $3000 a month is homeless…that way they can attempt another avenue of heart string pull. Mind you, you never hear anyone say a senior who has $3000 a month income is homeless, or if he is, its obviously his/her choice because the income is there. So when an addict pizzes away his paycheck somehow, society should support him/her, with food, clothes, lodgings and “Respect” ,that’s just insane!
I have great fear the emotionally driven will guide the uninformed into producing a Lethbridge DTES which would be a smaller version of Vancouver. MSTH is emotionally driven and lacks the logic needed to make hard decisions that are in the best interest of the community. They are driven by emotion and there never ending need to see themselves as Mom’s who must guide the wayward child, nothing else matters and to hell with what it does to the community! “we’re savin lives here”!
I have watched these clown organizations for 20 years and the gravestones pile up, the taxpayer bleeds and society suffers! The addict? He/she just revolves through rehab about once every two years to get a break and top up the medical society pro’s bottom line. Net result? Less than .2 of 1% actually stay clean after 2 years. So why are we supporting this insane system with ZERO results for 100’s of millions spent? The cliche’ of “even if we can only save one life” is used to justify a failed process!
Want to save lives? Let the addict hit rock bottom, then rehab him/her after they have shown, they are done with drugs. Ever notice Doctors require the obese to show they are serious in losing weight by losing X Pounds before a bypass surgery is given? They do it to ensure they are serious. Addicts for some reason can decide at 2AM they want to rehab and society SHALL JUMP in response! So you have to wait for the addict to prove to society he/she wants to quit and that’s not “one moment in time where while sitting in his/her own filth” uttering the word Rehab. Any earlier than that all you are doing is providing Doctor XXXX and the ” Non Profits” who run the associated scams like SCSs with a massive Pay Check, that get ZERO Results and a never ending supply of “Recycled Clients” !
Why is MSTH pushing the Clean Drug issue now? Because they know that soon the borders will open and the old supply of cleaner drugs will replace the COVID Induced non-professional home cooked stuff that is killing people. Numbers of deaths will drop back to pre COVID norms and remove that crisis like opportunity. So it must be promoted now because once the normal drug supply starts up again they lose a foothold in the process of supplying clean and FREE drugs, which is the next stage if this resolution is supported. MSTH smells a last ditch chance of getting a 3-6 vote by those who intend to create DTES Lethbridge as the old councilors exit stage left and leave the new mess for the “new council”!
Is this the organization that during the heyday of of the SCS was instrumental in sending Medicane Hat addicts to Lethbridge.??? Just asking.
Mr. Bremner
Change is never easy and the world is changing, far more rapidly than it ever has. We must look at doing things differently, as what we are now doing is not working.
Evidenced-based programs from other countries have PROVEN to be successfully. Our policies and laws are archaic and from a very different world than the world today and are not doing anyone any good and definitely not providing worthwhile use of tax payers’ money.
I have realized over these past few years that we will never arrive at anything worthy or meaningful through hatred, indifference or heartlessness. We must have compassion for ALL our fellow human beings and deal with ALL matters that effectively support and encourage growth and stability.
Police Chiefs across the country can see the value in decriminalizing drugs for personal use. The amount of manpower and tax dollars being spent on a revolving door of people being charged for having a personal amount of drugs on them is not only ludicrous but also fiscally irresponsible; taxpayers should be demanding better use of their tax dollars.
Drugs have been around since the beginning of time. The world has spent trillions of dollars trying to make the issue disappear, but it hasn’t and nor will it, ever go away. Therefore we must look at different ways to ensure that those with chronic addiction can be supported – there is evidence to prove that chronic addiction can be managed and provide a means for individuals to reconnect with families, maintain employment and are no longer treated as an outcast of society.
There are also those that use drugs recreationally and there are those that will experiment ~ we will never, ever change this. NONE of these people deserve to die and we CAN change that, safely and effectively!
We CAN’T prevent drug use ~ we have being trying for decades – it doesn’t work and the years gone by have only proven that.
It’s time for change.
“Evidenced-based programs from other countries have PROVEN to be successfully”
I enjoy “Evidence based programs” that always seem to provide Proof but yet are never cited as a source of truth when trying to justify a programs existence Ms Hatfield.
So Portugal did see a reduction in crime by legalizing drugs but what those who cite Portugal as Proof it works, do not quote, is the massive influx of addicts to Portugal and the burden they are exerting on Lisbon as an example. They also do not cite the fact that the numbers of deaths from drugs in Portugal is back to the same level as PRE- 2001
So you, like others cite what you want to rather than citing the facts of ALL the data. Here is the net result of the Portugal “experiment”
-Portugal has managed to increase the number of addicts since inception of the 2001 change in policy
-The burden on social programs sponsored by taxpayers has doubled as a result of their great idea.
-The decrease in prosecutions is directly related to slackening of the law in regards to possession etc but it also has reduced the number of drug dealer prosecutions by 40%, so the dealers are profiting from this new found leniency as well. So they are being paid to be criminals under this new policy
-numbers of users increased in the “over 25 years of age” as a result of the “oh hell I might as well give it a try because I won’t go to jail” attitude.
-total number of drug users 15-34 increased in Portugal at the same rate as the rest of the EU which was HIGHER than pre 2001 because the expectations is that everyone in the EU will begin to take this lax policy toward drugs, so more are “experimenting” and it now has you believing we should do it here because others think it a great idea!
-the number of people in drug treatment programs has fallen off precipitously because of “the acceptance” that you can be an addict for life because society accepts you for who you are, right? So you obviously don’t care it gives license to numerous addicts to decide to be heavy equipment operators more so then now, right?
-there are 18,000 people in opioid substitution treatment programs in Portugal, none are rehabilitated all are dependent on a new synthesis of the drug, all, would not be able to pass a drug test if stopped on the road driving a vehicle. I would imagine you would consider that success because taxpayers now have a new payment?
-Portugal has over 2000 syringe dispensaries sponsored by the taxpayer and the number of syringes grows every day.
-The type of addict has grown since 2001. In the high risk category (Naloxone type) Portugal grew from 10% to 50% since legalization, Something not discussed because it might actually show that they are creating HARDER Addicts! You see, if you can shift 18,000 to synthesized drugs you can say you have less addicts on hard drugs. If you then make the real drug users more Hardened Addicts you can easily hide those statistics like Alberta’s rehab numbers do!
Portugal is heralded as a success because it reduced the numbers going to jail. But like all other rehab programs there are no records kept for success rates in rehab. Success in the EU is seen as less people in jail, no difference in Rehab, and more hardened addicts now dependent on a larger stream of drugs hence the drop of dealer prosecution. So the success you cite is the shifting of the burden from central/Federal government to communities/municipalities. Federal Institutions have seen a successful drop of their responsibilities and the shift is now complete. Cities now carry the burden. That is what you are proposing for “Lethbridge”!
As far as saving money is concerned, thats a load of crap as well. What you save on policing or the judicial system is spent on “Non Profits”, Counsellors, and Rehab/Housing facilities. (Insert U of L Profs comments here). There is no “savings” there is a redirection of taxpayer money from one group to another group. This “other group” is the one doing the promo on its okay being an “addict for life” and a “tax burden for life cuz – we respect you”. It downloads the expenses of an addict from the Feds to the Province/Municipalities, bottom line!
So statistically, your EVIDENCE is flawed but I do not blame you, your organization cherry picks the good stuff and ignores the rest.
So now we will be required to pay for a supply of narcotics to keep these guys stoned. Great use of tax dollars. Sounds like something our Mayor and Council would support.
Too late! There are a few pharmacies that have addicts there everyday for their taxpayer paid opioid’s fix! We have been buying their legal drugs for over a year I am aware of, with those drugs found in the autopsies of those in this city that fatally overdosed! They want that high, and the prescriptions alone just don’t cut it!
Lethbridge needs to take action on the overdose crisis. It is the municipality with the largest number of substance related deaths year after year. In Edmonton the city council passed a resolution last month. 15 of the 16 councillors voted in favour of the following. Lethbridge can do the same:
1. That the Mayor, on behalf of City Council, write a letter to the Prime Minister asking for the following:
*that the Federal Government officially recognize the overdose crisis as a national public health emergency;
*that the Federal Government fund and accommodate overdose prevention programs in Edmonton utilizing pharmaceutical alternatives under medical supervision to illegal street drugs;
*that the principles of decriminalization within the Government of Canada’s proposed amendments to the Canadian Drug and Substances Act, as proposed in Bill C-22 be enacted by parliament.
2. That Administration engage with the Government of Alberta in regards to Edmonton’s five supportive housing sites to determine their eligibility for designation as therapeutic communities, with addiction treatment that includes pharmaceutical alternatives to illegal street drugs. Edmonton city councillor ( R) and his assistant Rebecca Visscher ( R) celebrating ( after the fact) with MSTH Co-Founder Lorna Thomas. Last month Edmonton City Council passed both parts of the following motion:
1. That the Mayor, on behalf of City Council, write a letter to the Prime Minister asking for the following:
*that the Federal Government officially recognize the overdose crisis as a national public health emergency;
*that the Federal Government fund and accommodate overdose prevention programs in Edmonton utilizing pharmaceutical alternatives under medical supervision to illegal street drugs;
*that the principles of decriminalization within the Government of Canada’s proposed amendments to the Canadian Drug and Substances Act, as proposed in Bill C-22 be enacted by parliament.
2. That Administration engage with the Government of Alberta in regards to Edmonton’s five supportive housing sites to determine their eligibility for designation as therapeutic communities, with addiction treatment that includes pharmaceutical alternatives to illegal street drugs.
This proposal is no different then any other. Your objective is to treat Blood Reserve Addicts in Lethbridge rather than proposing the facilities you want be placed on the Blood Reserve.
It again justifies “whitey” trying to guide indigenous youth as was done in the days of the Residential Schools. You and MSTH want Lethbridge in all its whiteness, to produce indigenous programs, run by whitey who will pay himself/herself $343,000 a year once again.
Its amazing how misguided you do gooders can be! You cannot call a spade a spade for fear of not being socially acceptable and politically correct. So because you cannot state the problem we are doomed to repeat it.
Have you proposed clean drugs be made available on the reserve and the reserve manage the issue? Remember First Nations, is a Nation within a Nation. I have not seen any proposals for Blood or other Reserves to provide safe clean drugs but somehow Cities should? If we did, do you think that might cause a further mass exodus from the Reserves and cause more broken families?????? FARKKKK! Would that be more or less profitable for the Lethbridge Group biting at the bit to set up more “Non Profits”?
You guys just never stop, or as a minimum think it through THOROUGHLY ,that’s the problem here. You are deathly afraid of being called a Racist, you cannot actually state the problem. I can, I can watch Hamilton Carpet videos all day and tell you where the problem is. But so many of you cannot state the problem because you may be shunned from some dinner party group who also do not want to face the problem!
Gads this is sickening and getting sicker by the day!
In this entire thought process of making Lethbridge a hub for Blood Residents did anyone give consideration to the Indigenous Mom’s who want their children back at home on the Reserve? Moms and Dads that leave Blood to scour the streets of Lethbridge to get their kids back get to deal with whitey again? Is MSTH the director of Motherhood and the director of where Rehab shall or shall not operate? I grew up with Residential schools and what I see is the “Professors of Wisdom” all starting up again, and in 20 years the Reserves of Canada all up in arms saying you screwed their youth again!
You can’t even state the problem and you are using an alias Lortho? So even though you cannot be identified, you still can’t force yourself to be honest in identifying the issue here (Lethbridge)
Why is the obvious not obvious , it must be you don’t want to face the problem! So there must be money in it somewhere for someone if you get your way, and I can tell you, it won’t be the Blood making the money, it will be the Blood furnishing the “Clients” and breaking up more families!
Hopefully you can go to the meeting at city hall. Someone so knowledgeable needs to counter this madness. It has become such an industry with alot of push behind it. We need the councilors and mayor that Pendicton B.C. has. I agree with them enough is enough.
I read in the paper that the reason that addicts weren’t using the treatment center on the reserve is because they were embarrassed to seek help in their community. Bull it is because they have no where to stay on the reserve after their families kick them out. The reserve’s housing budget is missing millions of dollars- start there.
Its a movement Montreal13 . Special Interest X Gen’s are trying to justify the latch key Y gen as a “no need to work, stay on drugs, be a fungus on society and we will still Love you, Respect you, provide you with a taxpayer paid Home, Food, Clothing so you can piss away your Tribe Money, or UI or Welfare check on your habit, kind of Generation.
The plan is simple, first free needles, then safe supply, then decriminalization, then free drugs. No need to rehab just stay a junkie for the rest of your life and we will look after you and oh yes, absolutely Respect You for doing it!
The remaining hard working X/Ys? Well they are all just so dang stupid for contributing to society!
Your stats are dated and we have decreased the number of fatal overdoses in this city in 2021 due to the SCS closure! Lethbridge should be the model for the rest of the country, that enabling addicts by the failed harm reduction model in BC failed and more lives are saved by treatment, not by giving them more drugs!
North America has suffered higher numbers of fatal overdoses due to COVID restrictions!
Lethbridge is on the right track and we will continue to improve without giving addicts more drugs!
These bleeding hearts only ever have one answer, and that is to give addicts everything they want.
Any professional addict recovery organization will tell you that the worst thing you can do for an addict is to give in to their demands. That’s exactly why they say, “If you baby an addict, you bury an addict”.
MSTH claims to want to save lives, but what they’re actually promoting is enabling. In one way or another, enabling always leads to destruction and death. Give an alcoholic all the booze they want, and they’ll drink themselves to death in no time. Ditto for a drug addict…..and all the while you keep enabling them, they’ll cause more and more harm to other people.
Here’s a crazy idea: How about placing responsibility on the addict and not everyone else?
A novel idea ! – – Don’t use illegal drugs.
perhaps everyone would be better served if more energy was directed at that concept!
Sorry this was not supposed to be answer to Seth ,but to news article.
Great points! There is no common sense anymore!
It is all about money! Legalizing Canabis was so the Feds could collect more taxes and at first they tried to cut out the provinces so they could reap more cash!
There is a major wake-up call coming to Canada and all the bleeding hearts when all the cutbacks kick in needed to compensate for all of the costs of COVID. Many of the social programs will see major cutbacks along with the services we have enjoyed in Canada for many decades!
We need to make the right decisions immediately to solve the addiction problem and enabling is one big mistake. BC is prime example, and it is BC that is driving the Feds to legalize the very drug that started this mess over 20 years ago in BC.
Seth Anthony I am sure you remember the concerns in the media when the SCS was going to open, expressed by addiction counsellors. Your comment is correct!
Their concerns were ignored and what ensued was an increase of fatal overdoses in Lethbridge after it opened, along with attracting addicts to come to our city.
All of the lives lost along with millions blown!