North Bay’s drug strategy committee to disband at the end of April
After 15 years of alerting the public about harmful drugs on city streets, the Community Drug Strategy North Bay and Area steering committee is disbanding at the end of April.
“They've done things on stigma around drug use. There's so many things that it's hard to list them,” said committee chair Pat Cliche.
The committee was formed through the support of former Mayor Al McDonald, who emphasized the need for a drug strategy group in his platform during the 2010 municipal election.
This came after a previous drug awareness group dissolved. McDonald approached Cliche about picking up the pieces following four pillars: prevention, harm reduction, enforcement and treatment.
“Those pieces that the strategy was involved in are going to be picked up and carried on,” said North Bay Police Chief Daryl Longworth.
Currently made up of 12 members, the committee would meet to discuss strategies on how to tackle mental health, addictions, and dangerous street drugs pouring onto the streets of North Bay and area.
One of the most important projects the committee led was the P4P (patch-for-patch) pilot project to curb the growing trend of fentanyl abuse. It generally applies as a “one in, one out” model. Clients are asked to return any patches dispensed to them back to the pharmacy before they can receive more.
Bill 33 was introduced by Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli and passed in December 2015. On Oct. 1, 2016, it became a legal requirement across Ontario.
Cliche said the intent of the bill was to implement a mandatory P4P program to address the ongoing issue of opioid-related deaths and serve as a tool to help reduce the abuse of fentanyl patches.
“It actually turned into a provincial law,” she said.
“So that was the first thing we ever did. But we've now done projects on human trafficking.”
A substance use disorder treatment support network sub-committee will remain as an active group. With the city’s community safety and well-being plan now in effect and addressing the same issues, Cliche said it created a redundancy within the system.
“As long as our safety community well-being plan continues, the work of looking at some of the drugs, homelessness, addictions, and mental health, we're satisfied,” she said.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Longworth said front-line police remain heavily invested in drug prevention programs and strategies.
“The committee is still very much a focal point of what services this community provides and stopping people from getting into that kind of a culture where we have to do the enforcement,” he said.
Cliche said the best option for the committee’s future includes a potential rebranding with the objective of providing education and awareness about street drugs through social media.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
DEVELOPING Statistics Canada says real GDP grew 0.2 per cent in February
Canada's GDP rose 0.2 per cent in February, driven by a rebound in transportation and warehousing, which saw the largest recorded month-to-month rise in over a year at 1.4 per cent.
BREAKING 4 dead, including infant, in wrong-way crash involving police on Ontario's Highway 401
A wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby, Ont. last night has left four people dead, including an infant, Ontario’s police watchdog says.
NEW Is there a cost to convenience? Canada approves new cancer immunotherapy treatment
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Canada's new dental program offering hope of free care to millions but many dentists aren't signed up
A new Canadian dental care program is offering the hope of free care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up for the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done the same.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
Winner of US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer
One of the winners of a historic US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
King Charles III returns to public duties with a trip to a cancer charity
King Charles III returned to public duties on Tuesday, visiting a cancer treatment charity and beginning his carefully managed comeback after the monarch's own cancer diagnosis sidelined him for three months.