News Archive 2024 - Wolf Chart

February

CBC: B.C. should expand safer-supply program despite drug diversion risks: provincial health officer

February 01 2024
By David P. Ball
Topics:
- British Columbia, Safe Supply Program, Emergency Management
Location:
- British Columbia
Summary:
- Provincial Health Office of BC wants to radically expand the Safe Supply Program in both volume and diversity of drugs.
Actors:
- Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer

B.C. is the first province to have a safer-supply program, which allows medical prescribers to give substance users regulated versions of some opioids.

…

“The program does not go far enough in terms of the medical model to meet those needs … The medical model must be expanded.”

March

Peak: Tla’amin resident addresses quotes made in New Westminster Times

March 04 2024
By Paul Galinski
Topics:
- British Columbia, Indigenous Peoples
Location:
- Powell River
Summary:
- Tla’amin councilor Maynard Harry said that “white Canadians are subhuman” while advocating for name change of the community of Powell River, and this is damage control
Actors:
- Tla’amin First Nation
  - Maynard Harry, councilor

In an open letter to Tla’amin, dated February 20 and published in the March 2024 Neh Motl publication, Harry, whose Tla’amin name is KWAST-en-ayu, said he wanted to be clear that he made statements to the New Westminster Times as an individual and they in no way reflect the opinions or beliefs of Tla’amin Nation’s leadership.

PG Citizen: Prince George police seize substantial quantities of safer-supply harm reduction drugs

Updated March 11 2024
By Ted Clarke
Topics:
- British Columbia, Safe Supply Program, Emergency Management
Location:
- Prince George
Summary:
- RCMP conduct large drug bust of 10,000+ Safe Supply opioids, diverted in Prince George/BC and destined to be exported for sale of the streets of Alberta.
Actors:
- RCMP, PG Street Unit Crew

One seizure alone confiscated more than 10,000 individual prescription pills, including gabapentin, hydromorphone, codeine and dextroamphetamine. Investigators also seized large quantities of suspected fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

A second drug bust resulted in seizures of more than two kilograms of suspected cocaine, methamphetamine and cash, as well as thousands more prescription pills, including oxycodone and the safer-supply drugs morphine and hydromorphone.

Global News: No evidence of widespread diversion of B.C. safe-supply drugs: Officials and RCMP

Updated March 12 2024
By Dirk Meissner, Brenna Owen (The Canadian Press)
Topics:
- British Columbia, Safe Supply program, Emergency Management
Location:
- British Columbia, Alberta
Summary:
- Federal opposition (Conservatives) and the Albertan government allege significant instances of diversion fueling cross-provincial drug crises, while the state (RCMP) and BC provincial politicians and officials (NDP) insist that it is all a myth.
Actors:
- RCMP
- Mike Farnsworth, Public Safety Minister (BC NDP)
- John Brewer, BC RCMP Assistant Commissioner

Mike Farnworth told reporters he had spoken to the RCMP’s commanding officer in B.C. about the seizure in Prince George and was told the idea that there is widespread diversion is “simply not true.”

July

BC Gov: Provincial health officer recommends expanding alternatives to toxic, unregulated drug supply

Published July 11 2024
Topics:
- British Columbia, Safe Supply program, Emergency Management
Location:
- British Columbia
Summary:
- Dr. Bonnie Henry wants to push more Safe Supply narcotics on the population.
Actors:
- Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer

The report includes three recommendations:

The Province of British Columbia should explore implementing, with appropriate safeguards, and evaluating scalable programs that enable access to non-prescribed alternatives to unregulated drugs.

People and organizations that represent those with lived and living experience of substance use must be engaged in the planning, design and implementation of all programs and policies that enable access to alternatives to the unregulated drug supply.

The Province of British Columbia should pursue meaningful partnership in this work through effective co-governance with Indigenous organizations and governing bodies as is required to uphold the inherent rights and title of First Nations in B.C.

October

BC Gov: Escalated drug-poisoning response actions

Published October 30 2024
Topics:
- British Columbia, Safe Supply Program, Emergency Management
Location:
- British Columbia
Summary:
- The BC government spends billions in response to the drug and mental health crises. This includes expanding the number of clinicians and facilities that can prescribe Safe Supply drugs, a vast increase in “harm reduction” sites and “indigenous-led solutions”, and “Rapid Access Addiction Clinics (RAACs) that are designed to switch addicts from street drugs to government drugs.
Actors:
- BC Ministry of Health

The Province continues to enhance B.C.’s response to the toxic-drug crisis.

Budget 2024 builds on the historic $1 billion investment for mental health and addictions in Budget 2023 with $215 million to continue existing mental-health and addiction services, and funding in the capital plan to support treatment and recovery beds, including the work toward expanding the Red Fish healing model and Road to Recovery model. Since 2017, the Province has made new investments in mental-health and substance-use supports of more than $2.6 billion through 2024-25.

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Created April 18 2026