'What would Jesus do?' painted on wall VANCOUVER * Fed up with the drug dealing and other "undesirable activities" near their front doors, officials at Central Baptist Church in downtown Victoria installed a 15-metre-long concrete wall and topped it with a 1.2-metre-high black metal fence. But what they thought was a necessary safety measure - other buildings in the area feature similar fencing - has turned into a public relations battle, with some residents accusing church leaders of turning their backs on the city's most vulnerable citizens. [continues 749 words]
Police On Isolated Reserve Know Of 12 Dealers Who Confound Efforts To Halt Illicit Trade Each winter in northern Ontario, a 300-kilometre ice road that connects Attawapiskat to the rest of the world becomes a pipeline for drug smugglers and bootleggers who conceal contraband in engine compartments, diaper bags, even in children's Ski-Doo pants. The only other way into the town - in the headlines recently for a massive suicide and overdose crisis - is by plane. Drug couriers have flown in to the local airport with narcotics stuffed in their pockets, shoes and carry-on bags, police say. Pills are also sent into northern communities by mail, sometimes hidden in children's toys or sewn into the seams of baby blankets. [continues 778 words]
'IF WE WEREN'T HERE, IT WOULD BE EVEN WORSE' VANCOUVER - On a recent afternoon, a woman sat on the sidewalk, steps from this city's supervised drug-injection facility, Insite, pant leg rolled up, needle in hand. A young man walked by and casually offered a reporter a ball of speed. A short time later, three police cars swooped in to arrest a hoodied man for allegedly wielding a hammer in a nearby alley during a suspected drug-induced frenzy. [continues 1231 words]
Toronto police committed "egregious wrongful conduct" after they planted heroin in a drug suspect's car to create a pretext for searching the vehicle, a judge has found. In January 2014, police arrested Nguyen Son Tran in the city's Chinatown after finding 11 grams of plastic-wrapped heroin behind his car's steering column. But Ontario Superior Court Judge Edward Morgan ruled last week the officers never had the right to search the car and they knew that, so they scattered loose powder in a visible location next to the driver's seat. [continues 578 words]
Look for Powers to Disrupt Dealers' Phone Numbers Police across the country are looking for new powers to seize, jam or de-activate the phone numbers of street-level "dial a dope" drug dealers. Currently, when police make an arrest and seize a suspected dealer's phone, its number lives on and can be used by associates or even hijacked by rivals to keep the flow of illicit drugs going. At their annual conference last week, Canada's police chiefs passed a resolution calling on law-makers to give them the ability to cut off those lucrative phone numbers. [continues 601 words]
Uncredentialled 'Doctors' Highlight Lack of Oversight The website for Addiction Canada's drug rehab centres says patients are cared for by "fully licensed and certified treatment professionals." But the Ontario Provincial Police alleged last week that two employees at one of the company's facilities were passing themselves off as doctors when they did not have the credentials. Experts say the case highlights how Canada's private addiction treatment industry is largely unregulated and how families need to carefully screen providers before shelling out tens of thousands of dollars. [continues 679 words]
The growing number of RCMP investigators tackling the terrorism threat is raising concerns that other important federal cases are taking a back seat. Last October, RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson told a Senate committee that 300 investigators had been pulled from organized crime and financial crime cases to help support 170 members dedicated to RCMP- led Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams across the country. The number of reassigned investigators is closer to 500 now, a senior law enforcement source said this week, adding that the number fluctuates daily. [continues 270 words]
Almost a year after the federal government revamped the way medical marijuana is produced and distributed in Canada - moving from home-based operations to large-scale commercial ones - the fledgling industry continues to encounter growing pains. A trial set to begin next month in Federal Court will hear patients argue that the price of marijuana charged by commercial producers is too high, depriving them of medicine to treat serious ailments. Until a decision is made, individuals who previously held licences to possess and grow their own marijuana have been allowed to continue doing so. [continues 289 words]
Federal Court to Hear Complaints From Patients Almost a year after the federal government revamped the way medical marijuana is produced and distributed in Canada - moving from home-based operations to large-scale commercial ones - the fledgling industry continues to encounter growing pains. A trial set to begin next month in Federal Court will hear patients argue that the price of marijuana charged by commercial producers is too high, depriving them of medicine to treat serious ailments. Until a decision is made, individuals who previously held licences to possess and grow their own marijuana have been allowed to continue doing so. [continues 585 words]
VANCOUVER - Almost a year after the federal government revamped the way medical marijuana is produced and distributed in Canada - moving from home-based operations to large-scale commercial ones - the fledgling industry continues to encounter growing pains. A trial is set to begin next month in Federal Court that will hear patients argue that the price of marijuana charged by commercial producers is too high, depriving them of medicine to treat serious ailments. Until a decision is made, individuals who previously held licences to possess and grow their own marijuana have been allowed to continue doing so. [continues 734 words]
Constitutional challenge, advertising restrictions, product recalls have all had an impact Almost a year after the federal government revamped the way medical marijuana is produced and distributed in Canada - moving from home-based operations to large-scale commercial ones - the fledgling industry continues to encounter growing pains. A trial set to begin next month in Federal Court will hear patients argue that the price of marijuana charged by commercial producers is too high, depriving them of medicine to treat serious ailments. Until a decision is made, individuals who previously held licences to possess and grow their own marijuana have been allowed to continue doing so. [continues 483 words]
Almost a year after the federal government revamped the way medical marijuana is produced and distributed in Canada - moving from home-based operations to large-scale commercial ones - the fledgling industry continues to encounter growing pains. A trial set to begin next month in Federal Court will hear patients argue that the price of marijuana charged by commercial producers is too high, depriving them of medicine to treat serious ailments. Until a decision is made, individuals who previously held licences to possess and grow their own marijuana have been allowed to continue doing so. [continues 839 words]
Police investigating cold cases may have to think twice now about using Mr. Big stings - the undercover operations designed to draw confessions from suspects - after Canada's top court Thursday laid out new rules to protect those targeted by them. While the Supreme Court of Canada did not ban the use of the controversial technique, noting Mr. Big stings had resulted in hundreds of convictions, it said the elaborate operations can involve "powerful inducements" and "veiled threats," raising the possibility of unreliable confessions and abuse of power. [continues 560 words]
Six years after federal law changes gave police new powers to compel suspected drug-impaired drivers to take roadside sobriety tests, watchdogs say the system has been ineffective, resulting in few charges. But there is no consensus as to what should be done about it. A B.C. technology company is producing what it says will be the first commercial marijuana-detecting breathalyzer, but a prototype is still a few months away from release and needs further testing. The advocacy group MADD Canada recently went to Parliament Hill to push the idea of random roadside saliva testing - a system already in use in Australia and Europe but is likely to draw concerns about civil liberties here. [continues 826 words]
Six years after federal law changes gave police new powers to compel suspected drug-impaired drivers to take roadside sobriety tests, watchdogs say the system has been ineffective, resulting in few charges. But there is no consensus as to what should be done about it. A B.C. technology company is producing what it says will be the first commercial marijuana-detecting breathalyzer, but a prototype is still a few months away and needs further testing. The advocacy group MADD Canada recently went to Parliament Hill to push the idea of random roadside saliva testing - a system already in use in Australia and Europe but likely to draw concerns about civil liberties here. [continues 329 words]
Six years after federal law changes gave police new powers to compel suspected drug-impaired drivers to take roadside sobriety tests, watchdogs say the system has been ineffective, resulting in few charges. But there is no consensus as to what should be done about it. A B.C. technology company is producing what it says will be the first commercial marijuana-detecting breathalyzer, but a prototype is still a few months away from release and needs further testing. The advocacy group MADD Canada recently went to Parliament Hill to push the idea of random roadside saliva testing - a system already in use in Australia and Europe but is likely to draw concerns about civil liberties here. [continues 213 words]
B. C. Technology Company Producing First Commercial Marijuana- Detecting Breathalyzer Six years after federal law changes gave police new powers to compel suspected drug impaired drivers to take roadside sobriety tests, watchdogs say the system has been ineffective, resulting in few charges. But there is no consensus as to what should be done about it. A B. C. technology company is producing what it says will be the first commercial marijuana-detecting breathalyzer, but a prototype is still a few months away from release and needs further testing. [continues 684 words]
Six years after federal law changes gave police new powers to compel suspected drug-impaired drivers to take roadside sobriety tests, watchdogs say the system has been ineffective, resulting in few charges. But there is no consensus as to what should be done about it. A B.C. technology company is producing what it says will be the first commercial marijuana-detecting breathalyzer, but a prototype is still a few months away from release and needs further testing. The advocacy group MADD Canada recently went to Parliament Hill to push the idea of random roadside saliva testing - a system already in use in Australia and Europe but is likely to draw concerns about civil liberties here. [continues 438 words]
Six years after federal law changes gave police new powers to compel suspected drug-impaired drivers to take roadside sobriety tests, watchdogs say the system has been ineffective, resulting in few charges. But there is no consensus as to what should be done about it. A B.C. technology company is producing what it says will be the first commercial marijuana-detecting breathalyzer, but a prototype is still a few months away from release and needs further testing. The advocacy group MADD Canada recently went to Parliament Hill to push the idea of random roadside saliva testing - a system already in use in Australia and Europe but is likely to draw concerns about civil liberties here. [continues 486 words]
Enforcement, prosecution pose problems Six years after federal law changes gave police new powers to compel suspected drug-impaired drivers to take roadside sobriety tests, watchdogs say the system has been ineffective, resulting in few charges. But there is no consensus as to what should be done about it. A B.C. technology company is producing what it says will be the first commercial marijuana-detecting breathalyzer, but a prototype is still a few months away from release and needs further testing. [continues 787 words]
