Montreal transit authority responding to more overdoses in Metro stations
CBC
Outside Lionel-Groulx Metro station in Montreal's Sud-Ouest borough, Osyris Jackson rattles off a list of people he knows in the city who have died of overdoses, with a sense of resignation.
"I've seen people die so many times. It doesn't affect you anymore," he said. "But when you sleep though, it hits you back in your head though."
While he tries to be careful about who he buys from, Jackson confirms what many harm reduction organizations have been warning: the supply of street drugs in the city, awash with fentanyl, is potent and unpredictable.
Another change he's seen: more people using these drugs in some Metro stations.
"It never used to happen, like, when I was growing up," he said "Now it's out of control."
Amid increasing worries from Montreal community organizations about the impact of fentanyl, new figures from the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) show that authorities in the city's Metro stations are responding to an increase in overdoses.
As of March 1 last year, the STM's special constables began carrying the drug naloxone, which helps reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. From March 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, they administered it 10 times.
Already, in the first three months of this year, they have used it 15 times.
"It's no secret: it's incredibly flagrant inside our network," said William Barrow, STM special constable, regarding drug use in the Metro.
Barrow, who has worked for the transit agency since 2021, has not had to administer naloxone himself but says several of his colleagues have.
"There definitely is a feeling of change since the pandemic has happened," Barrow said. "It's brought in new challenges."
Paramedics with Urgences-Santé also administered naloxone in and around Metro stations 12 times in 2020, 54 times in 2021 and 31 times last year — the same year STM constables also started carrying the drug.
Neither the STM or Urgences-Santé could provide statistics on overdose deaths in Metro stations.
On the ground in the Metro, others are trying to head off overdoses too.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a farewell message to Canadians Thursday as he marks his last full day in office.
The Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs says about 80 per cent of volunteer firefighters in the territory are wearing expired protective equipment, putting them in danger and in violation of occupational health and safety regulations when they respond to emergencies.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will be given a new portfolio in Mark Carney's cabinet, a source with knowledge of the decision told Radio-Canada.
The Alberta government has suspended a loan program at Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative, the province's largest cattle financing cooperative, after an inspection alleged a number of financial mismanagement and regulatory issues.
If you look up at the sky late, late Thursday in the Toronto area, there's a chance you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse and what's called a blood moon.
When wintertime calls, go where it's warm.
Colby Leamon had lost a close family member, and was looking for a dog to provide emotional support.
The cost of a 24-pack of beer could increase $3 to $5 because of 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum exported to the United States, according to a craft brewery in northern Ontario.
Fire tore through a seafood processing plant in Cape John, N.S., on Wednesday night.
Another of New Brunswick's new municipal councils has become embroiled in drama and bitter conflict.
Tardiness is nothing new at Via Rail, but late arrivals are reaching historic levels in a key corridor since passenger trains have been forced to slow down at hundreds of rail crossings operated by CN Rail.
Walmart Canada will stop selling machetes — a type of weapon frequently used in violent crimes — in stores across the country, after Manitoba's government pressured the retailer to restrict online sales.
The parents of two 15-year-old girls at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon say they went to police and the school multiple times between June and August 2024 with concerns about escalating online threats from the student now accused of setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.