In the 1890s. the West Coast was awash with smugglers running Chinese immigrants, opium, cigarettes and liquor over the Canada-U.S. border. According to U.S. officials, Victoria was at the centre of this illicit trade network. On July 3, 1890, the U.S. treasury department sent one of its special agents to Victoria to "get, as nearly as possible, into the inside of the operations of the smuggling ring that is supposed to have headquarters there," the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. [continues 693 words]
Efforts Raise Awareness Of Man Jailed Overseas Lawyers and diplomats may not be able to help a Canadian man jailed in Dubai on drug charges, but maybe one little girl with a lemonade stand can make a difference. Carmen Portillo has only met Bert Tatham once, but the 10-year-old girl believes whole-heartedly in his innocence -- based on the word of Tatham's fiancee, Sarah Gilmour. "I really like Sarah. She was my mentor and one of my favourite friends at school," said Carmen about the former George Jay elementary school teacher. Students heard her tell the story of Tatham's efforts in Afghanistan to eradicate poppies and about his legal predicament overseas and were touched by his story. [continues 164 words]
Federal Liberal heavyweight Bob Rae took a shot at the Conservative Party and gave a shot in the arm to Mayor Alan Lowe's safe consumption site bid. Rae met with local political, business and community leaders and toured the city's addiction, mental illness and homeless services last week. "If local community, the council and the province are on board, our position is license them and let it happen," Rae said. The City of Victoria, in cooperation with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, recently released its feasibility study on supervised consumption options in the City of Victoria. The report recommended the establishment of two to three sites in conjunction with health, detoxificatication and treatment services. [continues 155 words]
