British Columbia's Minister of Mental Health and Addictions outlined how the province will put a three year exemption related to criminal penalties for some illicit substances for personal use to work towards their health care programs
The British Columbia government has received a three year exemption to remove criminal penalties for people who possess a small amount of illicit substances for personal use, the shift in the provincial approach towards substance use coming with an announcement today in Vancouver.
In the information release that accompanies today's announcement, it's noted that this exemption will be in effect from Jan. 31, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2026, throughout British Columbia.
The Province will work with a broad range of partners to implement this policy change, including the federal government, health authorities, law enforcement, people with lived and living experience, Indigenous partners and community organizations to establish the public health and public safety indicators in order to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of this exemption in real time.
This exemption is not legalization. These substances remain illegal, but adults who have 2.5 grams or less of the certain illicit substances for personal use will no longer be arrested, charged or have their drugs seized. Instead, police will offer information on available health and social supports and will help with referrals when requested.
Carolyn Bennett, the Federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of health outlined how the Federal government views the situation and the need to start towards a new approach.
“The shocking number of lives lost to the overdose crisis requires bold actions and significant policy change. I have thoroughly reviewed and carefully considered both the public health and public safety impacts of this request. Eliminating criminal penalties for those carrying small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use will reduce stigma and harm and provide another tool for British Columbia to end the overdose crisis.”
The focus for British Columbia as outlined by Sheila Malcolmson, BC's Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, will be to direct those who use substances to seek out support and services.
“Substance use is a public health issue, not a criminal one. By decriminalizing people who use drugs, we will break down the stigma that stops people from accessing life-saving support and services.”
The full presentation that included Minister Malcolmson and Federal Health Minster Carolyn Bennett, can be reviewed below:
With the window on removal of criminal penalties set to start in January of next year, that will hopefully give the British Columbia Government some time to introduce some of those life saving services and supports to the northwest.
Many officials across the region have long been calling out for more assistance on the issues of substance use, but for the most part the Northwest has not seen the same level of infrastructure put in place as found in other parts of the province.
While the ever increasing price of a litre of gas may limit some travel plans this summer, for those still planning on hitting the highway in the weeks and moths ahead may find some travel delays along the way.
That with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure outlining a few of the significant paving projects planned for the next few months across the Northwest.
One of the projects is focused on the Hazelton area, where work should wrap up in June for some infrastructure work that includes:
A section of Highway 62 from the junction of Highway 16 to Recreation Road;
The Kispiox Valley Road from the junction of Highway 62 to Kispiox Village;
Aldous Street and Omineca Avenue in South Hazelton.
Also up for repair work this summer is:
The highway 35 area near Burns Lake and Highway 37 North south of Dease Lake and Lower Post Side Roads closer to Vanderhoof work in the Culculz Lake area will also bring some travel delays for travellers
Stikine MLA Nathan Cullen who is also Municipal Affairs minister noted of the the importance of road maintenance with the release of the paving plans today.
“In northern B.C., where often there are only a few road access points into remote and rural communities, highway and road maintenance is extremely important. Safe and reliable highways and roads are essential for northerners to get to work, school and appointments.” -- Stikine MLA and Municipal Affairs Minister Nathan Cullen
Earlier this month, the Ministry announced plans for the start of construction for the Terrace Commercial Inspection station east of the newly installed roundabout.
So far, there have not been any major summer road work plans announced for the western end of the Highway 16 corridor between Terrace and Prince Rupert.
Further updates for any plans for the Highway 16 corridor can be explored from our archive page.
Taylor Bachrach spoke to Transportation themes as part of a House of Commons committee session on Monday
The chaotic nature of passing through security at some of the nation's largest airports made for some discussion in a House of Commons committee session on Transportation on Monday.
Among those participating in the session was Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach, who spoke to themes of budgeting for CATSA, the service which provides for security screening at the airports.
"We're hearing many frustrations, from the workers and from the unions that represent them, when it comes to screening officers at airports and some of the working conditions. We're hearing about, you know challenges with things like bathroom breaks, we're seeing extreme overtime and forced extensions to overtime, missed breaks, washroom access all of these things, as well as uncompetitive pay.
And I'm wondering if the working conditions faced by screening officers and other airport workers is something you're concerned about and what role it is playing in the challenges you're experiencing in hiring more screening officers for our airports" -- Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach speaking as part of the Transport Committee in Ottawa on Monday
Users of a popular and vital highway connection that runs from Terrace to Burns Lake and on to Prince George are being asked to provide some feedback to BC Transit, that in order to improve the service and plan for the future.
The survey which was launched on Monday, asks those who use the four routes to outline what works well for the service and where the transit users would like to see improvements or enhancements.
The four distinct routes were launched in 2017, part of a municipal led approach to the end of Greyhound Service and to add to the daily opportunity for travellers to get around the Northwest, complimenting the BC North Bus service and other private ventures.
In addition to the ten minute survey, participants are also asked to submit any ideas that they may have towards transit use between the communities, making for an ongoing consultation panel which others can join in on to comment or share their own ideas towards.
The reason that the survey stops at Terrace, is that both Prince Rupert and Port Edward chose not to participate in the BC Transit program back in 2017, the City of Prince Rupert noting of local options at the time that the Northwest wide service was being developed.
A court challenge brought forward by the Lax Kw'alaams Band Council and Metlakatla First Nation over Nisga'a Nation intentions for the Nasoga Gulf has resulted in an eighteen month injunction, though the undercurrent to the decision from Justice seems to be to send the three parties back to the discussion stage when it comes to the dispute for the land in question.
The case, which was heard from March 8-10 in a Vancouver court room, was known as Reece v. Canada and in the forty four page judgment issued May 25th by Justice W.A, Baker, the concerns of the Allied Tribes are explained extensively.
The main thrust of the Nisga'a commentary at the time, that of noting they were in effect: "purchasing our own land at fair market value, lands that are already included in our Treaty areas"
During that period of time and in the months and years now that followed, the Allied Tribes would raise awareness of their concerns over the agreement and their historical claims to the area in question, with a range of information approaches. Included in the approach an information blockade along Highway 16 used towards reinforcing their position.
As the chronology of the dispute has evolved there have been a number of discussions held with all the parties involved, however no resolution was found, which brought the topic to the courts in March.
Since that agreement, the Nisga'a have outlined plans to develop an LNG facility in the area in question, the KSI project, which is still in its very early proposal stage.
The Conclusion to the judgement puts the current dispute into focus and notes how the Allied Tribes concluded the application with submission that their primary objective towards the injunction is to give the parties time to engage in a dispute resolution process before any decision is made on the Disposition and Consent.
With that, an injunction for a period of eighteen months was granted, the Allied Tribes have leave to apply for an extension of the injunction, if good faith negotiations between the Province, Canada, the Nisga'a;a and the Allied Tribes are not completed in that time.
All of which appears to set the stage for some extensive discussion ahead for all the parties to resolve the impasse, with the fate of the KSI Lisims LNG project just one of the elements caught up in the current pause for development related to the Nasoga Gulf and Lands.
Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Provincial scene for Saturday-Monday, May 28-30, 2022
Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Federal scene for Saturday-Monday, May 28-30 , 2022
The NDP Caucus is mostly holding to a team approach when it comes to any comments on the proposed Royal BC Museum rebuild
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice doesn't seem too inclined to weigh in on the growing controversy over the NDP governments plans to spend over 800 million dollars for a new Royal BC Museum, with Ms. Rice one of a number of NDP MLA's who directed the Vancouver Sun to a statement from Jagrup Brar to serve as her comment to the topic.
She was one of many MLA's who chose to let the Caucus chair speak for them on the topic.
A few of the Cabinet members did however share some of their own themes for the topic:
Among them Premier Horgan, Minister Melanie Mark who is steering the project and Stikine MLA and Municipal Affairs Minister Nathan Cullen.
As we noted last week, the topic of the proposed new Museum build has made for an ongoing narrative for the Opposition parties, with the BC Liberals in particular making use of it both provincially and at the local constituency level, highlighting for residents in each riding how that 800 million or Billion (depending on which party is doing the talking) could go towards other and in their minds, more immediate and urgent uses.
So far, the North Coast MLA's approach for the Vancouver Sun has mirrored that of her approach for the constituency; with Ms. Rice providing no contributions to her social media streams to reflect the Museum announcement or the commentary of the opposition.
Council members will consider whether to put the new civiv branding up for nomination for awards at the UBCM meeting later this summer
City Council will hear a request from the Communications office tonight to put forward the recent civic rebranding project up for consideration for upcoming awards with the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.
The request will come through a report from Communications Manager Veronica Stewart who will make the case for the City to submit the work for a 2022 UBCM Community Excellence Award.
As part of her notes, Ms. Stewart notes of the unique adoption of a corporate brand that marries the local Ts'mstyen perspective to the community's City of Rainblows identity.
Among our neighbouring communities, Prince Rupert is unique in our adoption of a corporate brand that closely involved indigenous artist Russell Mather in a more standard re-branding process with an established firm. The end result marries the local Ts'msyen perspective with a simple design that is highly effective in its application across multiple platforms and sizes. The new brand also reaffirms the community’s identity as the “City of Rainbows”.
The intent of the application is to celebrate the City’s unique approach to developing a community identity, as well as the work of Russell Mather, Will Creative, and the feedback provided by our focus group of community members
Her report can be reviewed below:
As we noted earlier this year, Prince Rupert Council embraced the new look with effusive praise back in March. Noting of the need for an upgrade from the look of 1910 that had been the city's image.
The project to develop the new civic image began over two years ago coming out of the Rupert 2030 Vision process, it had a slight delay on the way to launch owing to COVID.
The final cost of the new look came in at 105,000 dollars, an increase from the original estimate of 2019 that had set a cost of 75,00 dollars.
The rebranding project was paid for through a dividend from the Prince Rupert Legacy financial instrument.
It has been a topic of note in the community for many months, with the ever present smell of cannabis growing in the city, particularly the downtown area making for a number of questions from residents asking if the City can do anything about it.
The issue became the significant part of the conversation follow a recent fire downtown which consumed a pair of local businesses.
Those additional comments from the mayor could come tonight, with Council set to receive a report from the city's Corporate Administrator which will highlight some of the challenges the City faces in taking action on the issue.
The report notes of the difference between medical and non-medical grow situations and offers up two streams for the Council members to follow towards the situation in the city.
One a recommendation of a new by-law to regulate cultivation, the other a call to continue to lobby the Federal government to bring change to their handling of the issue:
Staff is recommending to Council that a bylaw be created to regulate cannabis cultivation through the use of nuisance (odor) considerations as well as imposing building code, electrical code and fire safety regulations. Any bylaw drafted will need to ensure it does not conflict with federal or provincial legislation and recognizes the supremacy of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In addition, Staff is recommending that Council lobby upper levels of government to address the issue through amendments to the Cannabis Act using Federal of Canadian Municipalities (“FCM”) resolutions, letters and meeting requests with relevant federal departments.
The Corporate Administrator will also look to deflect further conversation from the community on the topic towards the Federal government, offering up a destination and a form for residents to register their concerns.
The City of Prince Rupert is not in a position to take complaints or answer questions in regards to the legality of (medical) grows in Prince Rupert as the City receives no notice or has an opportunity to comment on zoning compliance.
Residents are encouraged to send their complaints directly to Health Canada at the form included in this Report to Council.
This information will also be uploaded to the City’s website.
The Public Hearing for the Proposed Port City Spirits small scale distillery and tasting room takes place tonight
The proponents of a proposed Distillery and Tasting Room for the old U Brew location on Fraser Street will gain the feedback of their neighbours tonight, with the proposed use for the location to be the topic for tonights Public Hearing on a Zoning Bylaw amendment to allow for the use.
The Hearing is set for 6 PM in Council Chambers
As we outlined previously this month, the pat to Public Hearing was charted at the May 9th session, following a report from City Staff on the proposed small scale distillery and tasting room, as part of the review, the city's planning staff observed how the proposed development fits into the city's Official Community Plan and a desire for more development in the downtown core area.
The Final Council session for May arrives tonight, with a wide range of items of note ahead of the city's elected officials, among them a 6 PM Public Hearing where those who may have comments or observations on the proposed Distillery for Fraser Street will have a chance to have their say with Council.
The Regular Council session features a report on the City's response to community concerns over cannabis grows in the downtown area and other parts of the city, as well Council members will receive a report towards submitting the city's rebranding work for a potential UBCM award.
A variance for a downtown window front and then consideration of the results of the Public Hearing for the Fraser Street business proposal will make for the wrap on the session.
It being a Committee of the Whole night, Council will also receive a presentation from Susan Crowley of the Prince Rupert Hospice Society.
An advisory at the top of the Council Agenda Page notes of the return of proceedings to the Council Chambers and offers up guidance for the public on how they can participate with the civic process.
The 5:00 PM meeting is closed to public for the elements of the Community Charter cited below:
The acquisition, disposition or expropriation of land or improvements, if the council considers that disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm the interest of the municipality;
the receipt of advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.
That meeting tonight marks the Tenth Closed Session hosted this year by Council to date.
The outline of Council's work ahead for the evening can be reviewed below:
Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- The Mayor will review the agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.
Reports and Resolutions
Report from Communications Re: Application to UBCM Awards for Branding project -- Council will receive a report from the Communications Office that outlines the plan to submit the City's Municipal branding program for consideration as part of the UBCM Awards process. (see page of the Agenda package)
Report from Planning -- Re: DVP 22-12 -- Council will receive a report from Planning related to a proposal for window signs for a property at 255-257 Third Avenue West (see page of the Agenda package)
Report from the Corporate Administrator - Re: Cannabis Regulation -- Council will receive a report from the Corporate Administrator related to the research and preparation of bylaws to regulate, prohibit or impose requirements on controlled substances and to lobby the Federal government to address the issue of regulation through Federal legislation (see page of the Agenda package)
Bylaws
City of Prince Rupert ZoningAmendmentBy-law 3492-2022 -- Having held a Public Hearing earlier in the evening, Council will consider a proposed amendment for the zoning of a property on Fraser Street to allow for a Distillery and Tasting room (see page of the Agenda package)
The evening will come to an end with any Additional Items as well as Reports, Questions and Inquiries from Members of Council.
Council members can take advantage of the period to offer up any items or concerns that they have for consideration on the night.
Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Provincial scene for Tuesday/Wednesday, May 26-27, 2022
