Sudbury police chief on opioid impact on community
Sudbury Police Chief Sara Cunningham gives statistics on the devastating impact of the opioid crisis in the community and on the front line.
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Nanaimo's vote on motion to request injection site closure likely to be held in fall
Empty booths are seen at a supervised consumption site Friday Jan. 22, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld The mayor of Nanaimo, B.C., says a deferred motion for the city to ask the local health authority to close an overdose prevention site near city hall will likely be settled in the fall. Leonard Krog says that while Nanaimo council did not pick a date to hear the motion, he thinks it would be October at the latest, and this time council will hear from Island Health and other stakeholders to discuss the concerns raised by the site. On Monday, the council voted 6-3 to defer Coun. Ian Thorpe's motion to request Island Health close the overdose prevention site and put the funding into other drug-addiction treatment options. Krog was among those who voted in favour of deferring the decision, while Thorpe was one of three who wanted to vote on the motion. Nanaimo's motion comes after a similar motion and deferral this month by Victoria council, with both cities citing disorder and public safety concerns around the facilities. At an unrelated news event on Tuesday, Premier David Eby did not dismiss the possibility that some sites may be relocated, saying that addressing disorder from locations would take the co-operation of many parties, from governments to service providers and law enforcement. 'There absolutely can be sites that are incompatible in terms of location with surrounding businesses and other activities,' Eby says. 'We're always willing to engage in conversation with cities to ensure that these sites are properly located.' Thorpe says he voted against the deferral of the Nanaimo motion because the challenges created by the current supervised consumption site is urgent and cannot wait. 'I think the sooner we try to send a message to the provincial government, the better,' he says. 'And this is of course just my personal opinion, but I feel that the government's philosophy of decriminalization and normalization of drug use has created more problems than it's solved.' The B.C. Health Ministry said before Monday's vote that overdose prevention services are 'vital' in saving lives and connecting people to treatment programs, and site operators 'are funded and expected to take steps to mitigate street disorder within the immediate vicinity.' This report by Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press, was first published July 29, 2025.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Peter MacKinnon: Nurses warned of 'imbalances' in 'colonial' health-care system
Two centuries ago, liberal theorist John Stuart Mill wrote in his classic, On Liberty, that human liberty requires freedom of conscience, thought and feeling: 'absolute freedom of opinion and sentiment on all subjects, practical or speculative, scientific, moral or theological.' His thinking has recently taken a battering, not least in our universities, but that beating is now joined by the foray of the Canadian Nurses Association into political thought. Article content Article content In its 2025 Code of Ethics, the association compels nurses to include a broad set of progressive political beliefs in their professional duties. Among these: nurses must respect the principles of social justice; advocate for the stewardship of the environment; advocate for freedom from oppression; and pursue truth and reconciliation. Article content Article content Article content On the subject of truth and reconciliation, nurses are encouraged to 'develop awareness of the Calls to Action contained in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report to address racism and health inequity; understand the history of and the ongoing impacts of colonial policies and nursing practices on First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples' health and well-being; and acknowledge the power imbalances that exist due to historical contexts leading to the mistrust of colonial systems such as the health-care system …' Article content These are political quests which, depending on context, may be worthy of pursuit, but to establish them as professional duties for the nursing profession strays far beyond the requirements of conscientious individual patient care. Article content Article content Three observations are pertinent. First, these requirements do not have a settled meaning: nurses, like the rest of us, have different views about what constitutes social justice, environmental stewardship, reconciliation and freedom from oppression. If there is a prevailing orthodoxy in the association's leadership, it is not shared with the rest of us. Article content Article content Second, as with Lewis Carroll's Humpty Dumpty, these new duties will mean what the association says they mean at a given time. The consequence is that the association can hold its members to account for departures from current orthodoxies or the opinions of the leadership; members may not know what their transgressions are until after the fact when they are summoned for discipline. Article content Third and most important, what business does the association have in establishing these professional duties? It has an undoubted interest in its members' professional knowledge and skills, their willingness to work collaboratively in the health-care system and their ability to relate to patients including those from many and diverse backgrounds. But, their interest should not extend to telling them what to think, believe and advocate. Article content
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Put down your phone while supervising kids in the water, Lifesaving Society urges
Beaches in Toronto are packed as people find ways to embrace temperatures up to 36 degrees Celsius on Monday June 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn TORONTO — As Canada heads into a long weekend, the Lifesaving Society is urging parents and caregivers not to have their phones in hand while watching children playing near water or swimming. The society says there has been a spike in drowning deaths this year, particularly in Ontario and Quebec. Last week alone, three people — including two young children and a 24-year-old male kayaker — died in three separate drownings in Ontario. Although the specific circumstances of the deaths aren't known, senior communications officer Stephanie Bakalar says absent or distracted caregivers are a factor in more than 90 per cent of drownings among children under five in Canada. 'Drowning is fast and it is silent and it can happen before you even realize it, which means that we have to have our eyes on our kids at all times,' Bakalar said. The Lifesaving Society continues to hear 'more and more' about children drowning while the people watching them are distracted, often by cellphones, she said. 'If you are going swimming, leave your phone somewhere on a table, face down, make sure you can call 911 if you need to, but do not have your phone in your hand. Do not look at it. Keep it away from you,' Bakalar said. Whether it's at a pool, at the beach or at the cottage, drownings can happen when the supervising adult looks away even for a moment. 'We often hear of people who've quickly checked their cellphone or turned to put sunscreen on another child. You could even be doing up a life-jacket for one of your kids while your other kid impatiently jumps in and starts to drown,' Bakalar said. At events such as pool parties, it's important to have a designated adult in charge of watching children at all times — and they should not be drinking and should know how to swim, she said. If that adult has to stop watching even for a few seconds, they should tag another adult in and clearly communicate that they are now responsible. In addition to children, younger men have a higher risk of drowning, largely because they often don't wear life-jackets, she said. 'We've heard of many instances of young people in their late teens, early 20s, doing things to impress their friends and then their life is over,' she said. 'Wear the life-jackets, make the safe choices and have fun. You can absolutely have fun in a life-jacket.' Preliminary data released Tuesday by the Drowning Prevention Research Centre Canada shows a small increase in water-related deaths between Jan. 1 and July 29 this year compared to the same period last year. Across the country, the centre said it's aware of 164 deaths in that time frame in 2024 and 168 this year. Although the number of water-related deaths either decreased or held steady in several provinces year-over-year, Ontario and Quebec have both seen jumps. According to the preliminary data, Ontario had 49 deaths between Jan. 1 and July 29 in 2024 and 57 during the same period this year. Quebec's water-related deaths jumped from 32 to 47. The province with the next largest number of water-related deaths was British Columbia, with 23 deaths between January and July both this year and last year. The Drowning Prevention Research Centre gets its data from internet and media monitoring services across Canada. It is subject to change later when official coroners' and medical examiners' investigations are complete. Ontario's Office of the Chief Coroner said there was an official total of 75 drowning deaths for all of 2024, down from 94 in 2023. It does not yet have official data on the number of drowning deaths that happened this year. The Quebec coroner's office said it did not yet have official data from either this year or 2024 as all investigations have not yet been completed, but said there were 90 drowning deaths in the province in 2023. B.C.'s Office of the Chief Coroner said there were 98 accidental drowning deaths in total in 2024, down from 119 deaths reported in 2023. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025. Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content. Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press
