'Tranq dope' making dire situation worse on the streets of Alberta, outreach workers say
CBC
Troy Bevans and Lauren Cameron know better than most about the realities of drug use — they've seen it from both sides.
And as the two outreach workers set out for their shift in downtown Calgary on a recent afternoon, they say it's never been this bad or this dangerous.
"Tranq dope" is taking a toll, they say.
"It's really scary out there," said Cameron, a former "chaotic" drug user trying to help people living on the city's streets.
The numbers bear it out.
Alberta poisoning deaths in April due to opioids hit 179, the highest number since the province started collecting data in 2016, according to the province's substance use surveillance system. The numbers were updated on Monday.
Weekly EMS responses to opioid-related emergencies have also been growing in frequency this year.
The weeks of June 5 and June 12 were the third and fourth highest on record, with 261 and 250 responses, respectively.
Bevans and Cameron are with the Calgary chapter of AAWEAR, which stands for the Alberta Alliance Who Educates and Advocates Responsibly.
Before they head out, they fill their backpacks with new meth pipes and straight shooters — which are mainly used for crack cocaine — along with basic necessities like hygiene kits, clothing and water.
What becomes quickly clear is there's more to this than cold, hard statistics. Real-world impacts are playing out on the streets of Calgary's downtown every day.
Street outreach — involving face-to-face work with people living on the streets — is challenging and emotional. The workers hear stories, like from one man living on the streets who said that in the last week and a half, he knew of five people who had died.
On this afternoon, flanked by a new grocery store and the Central Library in the East Village, Bevans and Cameron approach a group of people who have gathered at the bottom of a parkade. For outreach, they often stick to two people in a group, so as not to overwhelm people.
They introduce themselves and ask what harm reduction items are needed. One woman, going through a difficult time, recognizes Bevans.
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.