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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Letters to the editor, May 31: ‘We are overdue for our … governments to collaborate and rapidly address this ever-growing fentanyl plague'
Re 'How fentanyl transformed Victoria's Pandora Avenue from downtown hub to open-air drug market' (May 24): As someone who observes the chaos on Victoria's Pandora block almost daily, I am grateful you have given national exposure to our civic crisis. Perhaps because we have so many governmental and charitable organizations trying to address the problem, we seem incapable of even describing it holistically in the way your reporter has, let alone pulling together to solve it. I find it ironic, because British Columbia is good at deploying the Incident Command System when it comes to co-ordinating a response to natural disasters. The time has come to take charge of our drug calamity in a similar, localized fashion. Rory McAlpine Victoria Tragically, the deterioration of downtown Victoria owing to fentanyl can aptly describe many cities in North America today. As a resident of Calgary's East Village who overlooks the Calgary Drop-In Centre, I witness firsthand the similar deterioration of a planned community of condominiums, parks and the stunning RiverWalk. The main grocery store is now supervised by staff wearing body cameras. I see sidewalks riddled with human urine, feces, used needles and users smoking drugs. The solution may be a return to provincially run institutions such as Riverview Hospital in British Columbia, deemed inhumane and deinstitutionalized in favour of community-based mental health services. The old may become new again. Current community services, touted as the solution, are often underfunded and understaffed and seem incapable of dealing with the fentanyl onslaught and its users. We are overdue for our municipal, provincial and federal governments to collaborate and rapidly address this ever-growing fentanyl plague. Martin Wilkins Calgary My memories of Victoria date back to the 1960s, when my family would visit from Nanaimo. As a current resident of Victoria, I can still say it is a city of wonder, with its ocean vistas off Beacon Hill Park, the B.C. Parliament Buildings and, of course, the Empress hotel. But one doesn't have to travel far to witness the fentanyl crisis: the contorted bodies trying to stay upright or the lost souls passed out on storefronts, for some of whom I've beckoned the help of our bicycle-riding medics. My hope is that all levels of government will come together and find a solution to get those who need our help off the streets and into treatment. Only then may they find the dignity we all deserve. Unless that happens, living in a city seemingly more focused on bike lanes makes me think of a slippery slope with no return. Andrew Waldichuk Victoria Re 'What is happening to higher education in the U.S. right now is not reform. It is destruction' (Opinion, May 24): I believe these institutions also undermined their own defences from within. Long before the current political assaults, many campuses began punishing unpopular speech and sanctioning faculty under vague codes of 'harm.' By stifling internal dissent, often without due process, these universities eroded their credibility and validated the critics now calling them ideological echo chambers. This hypocrisy makes academic freedom harder to defend. To credibly resist external attacks, these universities should first recommit to open inquiry and intellectual consistency. They should get their own houses in order or risk defending the idea of a university, rather than the institution itself. Kristen McLeod Regina Re 'The men who left their mark on every corner of the brain' (Opinion, May 24): My father was suffering from a crippling spinal condition in 1949 that had rendered him almost unable to walk. He was 34, with a wife and three children (including me) to support and another on the way. His doctor advised him to see William Cone at 'The Neuro' as his best bet in seeking a cure. Dr. Cone took him as a patient. When my father asked if he could have a private room, the doctor replied, 'After paying me $3,500, I don't think you will be able to afford a private room.' Despite this letdown, the operation was a success, and my father lived without back pain for the next 54 years. In our family, Dr. Cone was a god. Fraser Laschinger Prescott, Ont. I never met Dr. William Cone, but Dr. Wilder Penfield first came into my life when I was four years old, in 1929. He operated on my mother's brain cancer and gave her four more years of life. Our families began a lasting friendship. When I was about 10, I spent a happy two weeks with the Penfield family at their summer home on Sargent's Bay off Lake Memphremagog. Some time in the 1940s, Dr. Penfield was invited to open a facility in Cowansville, Que., designed to provide local artists with studios and exhibition space. He began his address by noting he was a good choice for the task. 'I'm good at opening things!' Cowansville now has a lively art scene. The project Ruée vert l'art has a dozen artists' work displayed as banners on lampposts on streets leading to what I take to be the successor of the facility that Dr. Penfield opened. Robert Stairs Peterborough, Ont. I met Wilder Penfield several times at Rideau Hall where, in 1965, he was head of the newly created Vanier Institute of the Family. During one of the doctor's visits, he fascinated a group of us with this anecdote: Before hiring a new doctor at the institute, he took them home for lunch with him and his wife, Helen. Her father and grandfather had both been doctors. He had become keenly interested in a particular candidate. But try as he might, the lunch with Helen kept running into scheduling problems, so much so that he decided, just this once, to forgo it. The new doctor was hired. Within months, the institute had been turned upside down by the newcomer, and, as Dr. Penfield lamented to us that day, he only had himself to blame. R. Bruce Stock Former aide de camp to governor-general Georges Vanier; London, Ont. Re 'To be tall is to be big – and to be big is a no-no for women of all sizes" (Opinion, May 24): My sister and I grew, much to our horror, to be 5 foot 10. Relegated always to the back row in class pictures, I too dreamt of having a section of my legs removed. When we were old enough to wear heels – our father insisted we always wear heels when dating – we learned to slouch and appear a couple of inches shorter. Then along came my husband, a handsome 6 foot 2. Together we raised three boys who topped out at 6 foot 5, 6 foot 4 and 6 foot 3. They make me feel small, and I love it. Judi Conacher Toronto Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CFIA fines B.C. ostrich farm and says cull will occur, rejecting U.S. intervention
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it has fined a British Columbia ostrich farm $20,000 for failing to co-operate with anti-avian flu measures, rebuffing interventions in the case by United States health officials. It said the farmers who are resisting a cull order have not substantiated claims of scientific research on the birds, and that the agency's planning for a cull of the birds goes on as protesters gather in an "apparent attempt" to block the killings. Friday's statement about Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., represents a rejection of the proposals of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who wrote to the CFIA's president last week and called for the birds to be saved for joint research. Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is the administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, also said the birds should be saved and offered to relocate them to his ranch in Florida. The agency said in its statement that it had issued two violation notices to the farm for failing to report illnesses and deaths among the flock last year, and failing to follow quarantine orders. "The farm also failed to undertake appropriate biosecurity risk mitigation measures such as limiting wild bird access to the ostriches, controlling water flow from the quarantine zone to other parts of the farm, or improving fencing," it said. "These actions significantly increase the risk of disease transmission and reflect a disregard for regulatory compliance and animal health standards." Katie Pasitney, whose parents own the farm, said in a brief interview that she was unsure whether the fines were a new move by the CFIA but "nothing surprises me at this point." Dozens of protesters have gathered at the farm for weeks. Their numbers were bolstered on Friday by the arrival of a convoy of at least a dozen vehicles, social media livestreams showed. Sixty-nine ostriches died in December and January during an avian flu outbreak. The farm owners have said that the surviving 400 or so birds have developed herd immunity and are a valuable resource for scientists. "CFIA has not received any evidence of scientific research being done at the infected premises," the agency said. "Research documentation was not provided during the review of their request for exemption from the disposal order based on unique genetics or during the judicial review process. Further, the current physical facilities at their location are not suitable for controlled research activities or trials." The farmers lost an attempt to halt the cull via judicial review when a Federal Court judge ruled on May 13 that the operation could proceed. An appeal against that ruling was lodged this week, but the farmers have not secured a stay of the cull order. "Following the May 13 court ruling, the farm owners and supporters have been at the farm in an apparent attempt to prevent the CFIA from carrying out its operations at the infected premises," the CFIA said Friday. "This has delayed a timely and appropriate response to the (avian flu) infected premises, resulting in ongoing health risks to animals and humans." It said given that the flock had "multiple laboratory-confirmed cases of H5N1" and that there were ongoing serious risks for animal and human health, and trade, the CFIA "continues planning for humane depopulation with veterinary oversight at the infected premises." This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025. Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
6 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
B.C. ostriches set for cull have avian flu infection not seen elsewhere in Canada, agency says
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency plans to move ahead with a plan to cull ostriches in British Columbia, citing the birds have a genetic composition of avian influenza associated with a human infection in Ohio. The CFIA said in a statement released late Friday evening its National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease identified the current infection in the ostriches with a 'novel reassortment' not otherwise seen in Canada. 'This assortment includes the D1.3 genotype, which has been associated with a human infection in a poultry worker in Ohio,' the agency said. 'A human case of H5N1 in BC earlier this year required critical care, and an extended hospital stay for the patient, and there have been a number of human cases in the United States, including a fatality.' Ostriches that live at the Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, a remote community in B.C., are now the subject of international attention, including from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services who takes issue with the CFIA's plans to kill the nearly 400 birds. The ostriches have also garnered other forms of support in the U.S., such as from billionaire John Catsimatidis and Dr. Oz, an American TV physician who now runs medicare in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. Dr. Oz offered to provide sanctuary to the birds at his Florida ranch but the farm owners would like to keep the birds in Canada. Last December, an outbreak began at the farm that killed 69 ostriches. In January, the CFIA said the rest of the flock would be 'depopulated.' This spring, the farm has challenged the agency in court. Earlier this month, the Federal Court determined the CFIA acted reasonably in its cull decision. The farm's owners filed an appeal this week. B.C. owners of ostriches condemned because of avian flu outbreak seek new legal challenge The CFIA said Friday that after the court made its ruling on May 13, farm owners and supporters have made an 'apparent attempt to prevent the CFIA from carrying out its operations at the infected premises.' It also says this has delayed a timely and appropriate response to the premises infected with the avian influenza, resulting in 'ongoing risks to animals and humans.' 'Given that the flock has had multiple laboratory-confirmed cases of H5N1 and the ongoing serious risks for animal and human health, and trade, the CFIA continues planning for humane depopulation with veterinary oversight at the infected premises,' it said. The agency also said Universal Ostrich Farm has not co-operated with requirements set out under the federal Health of Animals Act. It claims that it failed to report initial cases of illness and deaths to the CFIA and it did not adhere to quarantine orders. The farm was issued two notices of violations with a penalty totaling $20,000, the agency said. The farm has not yet responded to the CFIA's statement. On Thursday, Katie Pasitney, a spokesperson for the farm who is the daughter of an owner, told The Globe and Mail about 50 supporters have gathered at the site daily who are rallying to save the animals. A convoy of supporters plan to travel to the farm site this weekend, she added. Supporters who made visits to the farm this week include a 13-year-old teenager from Fraser Valley, B.C., and her parents. She was diagnosed with Canada's first domestically acquired case of avian flu in November, although it is still not known how she caught the virus. The teen was discharged from BC Children's Hospital in early January after fighting for her life. Her visit to the farm was the first time she made a public appearance since becoming ill.
CBC
7 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
New gold and silver mine officially opens in central B.C. as premier faces backlash for fast-track plans
A new 44-square kilometre gold and silver mine has officially opened in the province's central Interior. Blackwater mine, located 112 kilometres southwest of Vanderhoof, B.C., west of Prince George, will be operated by Vancouver-based Artemis Gold and is expected to generate more than $13.2 billion, including $2.3 billion in provincial revenue, over its lifetime, the company said. "British Columbia is going to be the economic engine of the new Canada," Premier David Eby said in remarks at the opening, citing the province's "amazing resources." Eby was joined at the opening by Minining Minister Jagrup Brar, as well Acting Chief of the Lhoosk'uz Dené Nation June Baptiste and Ulkatcho Councillor Corinne Cahoose. The mine was approved after the province signed an economic and community development agreement with the Lhoosk'uz Dené Nation and Ulkatcho First Nation — on whose territories Blackwater is located — to share mineral tax revenue from the mine. The province says the nations have been engaged in all aspects of the project, from exploration, to permitting and environmental assessment, while the mine's owners and both nations have a project participation agreement in place. Artemis says 400 people are already employed at the mine site, about a quarter of whom are Indigenous, with employment forecast to grow to 800 during construction of phase two, which will create an additional 170 permanent jobs. Premier addresses backlash At the opening, Eby acknowledged the criticism his government has faced in recent days from First Nations over legislation aimed at fast-tracking new economic development projects, including mines, which critics worry will override environmental safeguards and the need for Indigenous consultation. "If we want to move quickly we're not going to be able to do it without strong partnerships with Indigenous people and we're not going to do it at the expense of our environmental commitments," he said. "That will always be the case as long as I'm premier." The opening came on the same day that British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee withdrew from an upcoming trade mission to Asia over the province's passage of bills 14 and 15, aimed at fast-tracking resource projects. "How can we participate in trade missions to promote resource development when this government has just rammed through legislation that tramples our rights and threatens our territories" Teegee asked in a written statement.
CBC
7 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
New funding coming to address public safety
New funding has been announced to address public safety for local businesses across B.C. As Johna Baylon reports, the money will go towards police initiatives, including projects in partnership with local communities.
