A drug-sniffing dog will be on guard at Porter Creek Secondary School tomorrow morning. An injunction being sought by a Porter Creek student to prevent the dog from attending her school is denied, Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale said this morning. "I dismiss the application to restrain the introduction of the drug-detecting dog," he said. The public interest of helping to alleviate the taking and selling of drugs at Porter Creek secondary must take priority over the student's intense allergies to animals, which has been known to cause hives, and swelling of the student's throat and tongue, Veale said in his decision this morning. [continues 400 words]
The Harper government's policy on combatting drug abuse in Canada needs to recognize addiction is a public health issue instead of treating those affected as criminals, an NDP critic says. Libby Davies, Vancouver East MP and federal NDP spokeswoman on drug policy, said she believes the federal Conservatives drug strategy is in danger of mirroring policies adopted by the United States, which sees those caught in the web of substance abuse end up in jail instead of treatment centres. "The four pillars of a drug strategy have been prevention, treatment, harm reduction and treatment. [continues 595 words]
WHITEHORSE - Getting a deal on a property once used to cultivate marijuana in the basement isn't a problem as long as you know the house is safe, say purchasers of former Whitehorse grow-ops. Purchasers of homes that contained marijuana grow operations shut down by the RCMP in the fall of 2005 said they had their houses inspected before they bought and are confident the properties are safe. Lindsay Schneider said she and her husband were told by the real estate agent that the house had been used as a grow-op and didn't have a problem with it. [continues 597 words]
A draft bylaw to protect tenants from unsafe living conditions is an example of municipal authorities stepping in where the territorial government has failed to act, say members of city council -- with one strong exception. Meeting at noon Tuesday, council and senior managers discussed a proposed controlled substances/properties bylaw. The draft bylaw gives the city authority to ensure former drug houses, such as marijuana grow operations or illegal chemical labs, meet health and safety standards before they're rented out to new tenants. [continues 942 words]
City council is set to discuss a bylaw which takes aim at the pocketbooks of landlords of drug houses in Whitehorse. In an interview Thursday, city manager Dennis Shewfelt said members of his administration have been working on a property bylaw to support the Yukon government's Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act (SCAN). "We've been working on a controlled substance properties bylaw," he told the Star. "It really is a bylaw brought in to support legislation brought in by the territorial government for properties used for drug purposes, things such as grow operations. [continues 800 words]
"Justice is itself the great standing policy of civil society; and any eminent departure from it, under any circumstances, lies under the suspicion of being no policy at all." - - Edmund Burke Dear people responsible for the Canadian criminal justice system, I am writing you today to express my dismay with our nation's and our territory's revolving-door justice system that keeps criminals on the streets and innocent people in fear. As a member of the media and a citizen of Whitehorse, I have a number of concerns over the way justice issues are dealt with in our courts. [continues 485 words]
While trying to temper a response to what he said may or may not be vigilanteism, Premier Dennis Fentie has only one message for the city's drug dealers: "Saddle up and get the hell out of the Yukon!" Responding to questions from the Star Friday afternoon, Fentie said he's been watching the anti-drug/violence protests in the city with great interest. He said he supports the move to kick drug pushers out of Whitehorse and the territory but cannot condone people taking the law into their own hands. [continues 818 words]
RCMP officers were out in numbers and the Capital Hotel is instituting a new drug policy after a group of 50 citizens descended on the downtown area Wednesday to tell drug dealers they aren't welcome in Whitehorse. Responding to questions from the Star this afternoon, Maurice Byblow, the owner of the Capital Hotel, said following an anti-drug rally he attended at Rotary Park Wednesday night, a group of 40 to 50 local residents from the rally, aged 19 to 30, peacefully entered his bar at 9 p.m. to ask a suspected drug dealer to leave. [continues 822 words]
For the second evening in a row, young people were standing guard on Main Street on Thursday to send drug dealers a message: get out of Whitehorse. At 6 p.m., about 30 young Whitehorse residents began collecting outside Main Street's Capital Hotel to raise awareness of the violent effects of the city's drug trade on young people. In a series of interviews outside the Capital, a group of young people, who spoke to the Star on a condition of anonymity, said they were again standing guard outside downtown bars to pressure drug dealers to leave town. [continues 565 words]
The use of illegal drugs in the Whitehorse Correctional Centre (WCC) poses a threat to the health and safety of the corrections officers working there. That's the opinion of Laurie Butterworth, the president of the Yukon Employees Union. He says he is encouraging union members to file complaints with the Yukon Workers Compensation Health and Safety Board. "(Inmates smoking drugs) is something that has come to light to me since taking office (in 2005). People took me aside and said, 'We are having a problem with this,' " Butterworth said in an interview Wednesday. [continues 275 words]
Next week's meeting of the Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs will be an opportunity for the territory's fire fighters to learn and exchange information, says Whitehorse fire chief Clive Sparks. The Association has their convention next week, Aug. 17-20, at the city's Gold Rush Inn and will see about 40 firefighters from across the territory come to Whitehorse to take part in the event. "This particular convention is open to all firefighters from across the territory," Sparks said. [continues 329 words]
Having police dogs occasionally conduct after hours drug searches in schools is not an adequate way to fight drugs in schools, Catholic school division superintendent Guy Tetrault says. Responding to questions from the News, Tetrault said he believes Medicine Hat's Dogs For Drug Free Schools initiative is a less intrusive, more effective way of keeping drugs out of Alberta's schools. "It's not adequate," Tetrault said of an initiative being put forward by the province's Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko. Last week, Cenaiko said he was working to convince reluctant school boards to allow police dogs to conduct drug searches after school hours. [continues 230 words]
Relaxing Canadian laws on pot possession will lead to more social problems, Medicine Hat's police chief said. Police Chief Norm Boucher said the federal government's bill to decriminalize marijuana would put more stress on police officers who didn't have the resources to deal with the problem. "They don't provide enough funds for cops to address the drug problem, this is not going to serve the community well." He said there was a real problem with citizens smoking pot and driving and that police did not have legal means to combat the problem. [continues 485 words]
