IN NEWS
META (Facebook) is now blocking Canadian news information and articles from being shared on their platform. We have decided to create this website page as a depository of articles and news information that MSTH and our allies are involved in.
2023-83
December 30, 2023
Advocate says education on drugs imperative to keeping students safe.
Children and drugs may be a hard subject for people to discuss, but Kym Porter says to shut out the very organizations whose sole purpose is to keep people safe is not going to change the realities students face.
2023-82
December 28, 2023
Calls for more addiction treatment as B.C. drug decriminalization enters 2nd year
Leslie McBain, a co-founder of Moms Stop the Harm, said access to residential treatment centres that offer longer intervention is also important but the province needs to regulate the industry, subsidize it and ensure staff are trained to provide trauma-informed care.
2023-81
December 27, 2023
The Alberta RCMP responded to 1,026 suspected drug overdoses from January 2023 to November 2023, compared to 511 in all of 2022. Of those suspected overdoses, 347 were deadly, that’s a 33.8 per cent increase in fatalities from last year.
“This is not an addiction crisis, this is a drug poisoning massacre.” says Euan Thomson MSTH ally
2023-80
December 17, 2023
Moms Stop the Harm also reposted AB Premier Danielle Smith’s post, saying, “From parents who have buried their children because of unregulated drugs, knowledge is power and harm reduction saves lives.”
2023-79
December 14, 2023
Dr. Gabor Maté and Former Patient Guy Felicella Talk Trauma, Addiction, & Recovery
Our dear friend and ally Guy Felicella spent nearly 20 years living on the streets in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside homeless and addicted to drugs before getting clean and forging a new path for himself. Today, Guy works with BC’s Coastal Health and tours as a public speaker, educating folks on harm reduction and sharing his experiences to prove that there is hope for those dealing with addiction.
2023-78
December 12, 2023
The Moms Stop The Harm ‘Gone Too Soon’ memorial tree pays tribute to those lost to substance use - Troylana Manson, Kamloops BC.
2023-77
December 6, 2023
‘War on Drugs’ Failed and Policies Need Major Overhaul – Report
Quote from Petra Schulz, Moms Stop The Harm, who lost her child Danny from drug poisoning in 2014: “Looking into the future, I see legally regulated substances with a public health focus as the only possible alternative. The war on drugs has failed many, and there are too many casualties, including our youngest child. Not a day goes by where I don’t think where he might be and what he might do if he was still with us.”
2023-76
December 5, 2023
Moms Stop the Harm will have two memorial Christmas trees set up this month for people to pay tribute to family and friends who have died from drug poisonings.
One tree is located in the lobby of the downtown branch of the Red Deer Public Library. The other will be set up near gift shop Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre on Dec. 15. Names of those who have died can be written on purple paper hearts available by the trees to hang on the branches.
2023-75
December 5, 2023
International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) The implementation of the 2019 Ministerial Declaration is off track. The 2019 Ministerial Declaration on drugs laid down the main objectives of the international community in addressing the world drug situation for a 10-year period. Drawing on a broad range of data and evidence, as well as on the experience of civil society and communities, this report shows that by 2023 there has been little, incomplete or no progress in achieving these goals. Petra Schulz from Moms Stop The Harm provided a statement in this international report.
2023-74
December 1, 2023
Number of British Columbians lost to toxic drugs in 2023 surpasses 2,000 Troylana Manson, an advocate with Moms Stop the Harm, lost her son Aaron due to an overdose from the toxic supply. She said she's urging politicians to provide a regulated, safe supply of drugs for everyone to access.
2023-73
November 24, 2023
Moms Stop the Harm demands probe into B.C. funding of private drug recovery programs. Leslie McBain with Moms Stop the Harm penned an open letter to MLA Niki Sharma and multiple B.C. ministers calling for an audit into an industry she calls "highly profitable."
2023-72
November 23, 2023
Moms Stop the Harm calls for more oversight of drug treatment, recovery centres. Moms Stop the Harm, a coalition of families who have been impacted by drugs, is calling on the B.C. government to provide better oversight of treatment and recovery centres.
2023-71
November 23, 2023
Advocacy group Moms Stop The Harm calls for investigation into B.C.’s private recovery and treatment sector.
2023-70
November 23, 2023
Moms Stop The Harm Call for Forensic Audit into Private Recovery Industry, Ties to BC United.
2023-69
November 23, 2023
'Moms Stop the Harm' Requests that the BC Government Investigate the Recovery Industry In an open letter to Attorney General Niki Sharma, the network of mothers who have lost family members to drug toxicity are asking for an investigation into millions of tax dollars.
2023-68
November 23, 2023
B.C. drug recovery homes need investigation and regulation: Moms Stop the Harm want private recovery homes and treatment centres regulated after stories of alleged harm and abuse. Leslie McBain
2023-67
November 13, 2023
‘Unconstitutional’: Harm reduction nurses suing B.C. over public drug use ban. Nurses association says new restrictions are putting drug user’s lives at further risk
2023-66
November 6, 2023
Petra Schulz, co-founder of Moms Stop the Harm, said it is “frightening” to hear members of the UCP voting to end supervised consumption sites.
2023-65
November 6, 2023
“Honestly I’m not that surprised,” said Amber Jensen with Moms Stop the Harm. “We've been hit with a lot of deaths here in our community. And it's really compounding the problems with people having to deal with grief and trauma as well as their own substance use.”
2023-64
November 4, 2023
More than 38,000 people have died from opioid overdoses in Canada since 2016. This week, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks answers questions about why the crisis continues to get worse and what more the federal government can do to save lives.
2023-63
November 4, 2023
Leslie McBain, with the group Moms Stop the Harm, said DULF was doing work that should be done by government. "We know that the government should be doing this, but we're so far away from that and DULF had the courage, the compassion and really the love to go ahead and do it," McBain said in an interview.
2023-62
November 3, 2023
Leslie McBain, co-founder of Moms Stop The Harm, whose own son died of a drug overdose, said her group supported what DULF was trying to do.
2023-61
October 31, 2023
Alberta government says a new bill will help to end the addiction crisis, however Addictions and Mental Health Minister Dan Williams doesn’t understand that what we are experiencing is not an addiction crisis, it is an unregulated and poisoning drug supply crisis. Advocates Petra Schulz and ally Avnish Nanda, say this will belief will not end the deaths and more will die while waiting for a safe supply or coerced into treatment.
2023-60
October 28, 2023
Former Ontario inmates saw higher risk of overdose death as COVID-19 emerged. Pandemic further exacerbated risk by 1.5 times for incarcerated men, 1.2 times for women.
Angela Vos, MSTH member, whose 26-year-old son Jordan Sheard was found unresponsive in his jail cell in Lindsay Ont., in June 2020, said health services for inmates and those who have been released should be handled by the Health Ministry.
2023-59
October 26, 2023
Vancouver police have arrested drug policy activists Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum after executing search warrants on the Drug User Liberation Front office and their homes. Nyx and Kalicum said they were driven to break drug laws through firsthand experience of the overdose crisis. Nyx has spoken about losing dozens of friends to the overdose crisis, while Kalicum previously told Vancouver city council about reversing over 100 overdoses when he worked in the Downtown Eastside.
2023-58
October 26, 2023
Lana Greene, MSTH member and the mother of an inmate who died in custody at Edmonton Remand Centre reacts to the public report by Alberta’s Public Interest Commissioner on the wrongdoings in correctional facilities. Lana’s son TJ died in custody in 2021 and she says the report is “enraging and validating”. VIDEO
2023-57
October 26, 2023
Vancouver police arrest 2 after raids on Drug User Liberation Front. DULF co-founder Garth Mullins said the group was founded "because no one else was coming to save us."
According to Mullins, the two people arrested were DULF co-founders Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum.
2023-56
October 20, 2023
Bereaved mothers’ media coverage and public support for harm reduction in Canada - Heather Morris, Petra Schulz
Mothers whose child’s death is related to substance use have emerged as prominent and outspoken critics of Canadian drug policy in the news media.
2023-55
October 17, 2023
Edgewood Health Network offers itself as a model for overcoming dependency. Some BC patients tell a different story.
MSTH member Kathleen Radu, who spent $80,000 on various treatment options for her son, Morgan Goodridge, knows too well that recovery can prove to be a heartbreakingly elusive goal.
2023-54
October 11, 2023
Newly-released data shows five Albertans die of overdose everyday. Petra Schulz from the advocacy group Moms Stop the Harm say the approach of the Alberta government is wrong.
2023-53
October 7, 2023
An average of 21 Canadians die every day from opioid-related overdoses. The House travels to Thunder Bay, Ont., a city that has the highest rate of opioid-related deaths in the province. Hear from paramedics who see the devastation of the crisis and recovering addicts who are trying to help others on their own journeys and from others on how the city is responding and what resources they need. And we hear from mothers who have lost their children to overdoses and question why the government didn’t do more to help them. (Thora Cartlidge from Moms Stop The Harm)
2023-52
October 7, 2023
Thunder Bay had the highest per capita rate of opioid-related deaths in Ontario last year. Canada is experiencing an epidemic of overdose-related deaths, due in part to an increasingly toxic drug supply. While it's among the country's hardest hit communities, Thunder Bay is just one of many grappling with the consequences of severe addiction.
2023-51
October 5, 2023
In this episode, we talk to Petra Schulz, who tragically lost her youngest son, Danny, to a fatal fentanyl overdose in 2014, at the age of 25. Petra lives in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada and since Danny's death has become a key figure in the fight for drug policy reform, both in her own province, but also nationally. Petra highlights the origins of Canada's current drug poisoning crisis, including the role of the wrongful and over prescribing of Oxycontin, as well as efforts to try get a hold of the crisis, such as the introduction of drug consumption rooms and safe supply. Petra also talks about her work in co-founding the national organisation Moms Stop the Harm and being a part of changing the legislation regarding naloxone dissemination across Canada.
2023-50
October 4, 2023
B.C. introduces bill to ban illicit drug use in many public spaces: Corey Ranger, president of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association said he is "disappointed but not surprised" by what he describes as a "complete walkback" in the province's decriminalization policy. "People are going to be forced to conceal their use, and a poisoned drug supply that's contaminated with benzodiazepines and animal tranquilizers, plus isolation, is a recipe for death," Ranger said.
2023-49
September 30, 2023
MSTH member and Healing Hearts Facilitator Janie Ann Brydges sharing this important information. Her story will help others and keep her son Adam's memory alive. Gone too soon!
2023-48
September 29, 2023
From ‘tough on crime’ to a new transformative vision for Canada’s justice system. Benjamin Perrin is a law professor at the University of British Columbia and author of the new book Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial.
2023-47
September 29, 2023
“I’ve always been proud of my son. I’m not ashamed of how he died,” says Anna Maria Iredale (MSTH member). "I’m saddened by how people decide whose lives are worthy or not. I am supporting CAMH to honour my son Mathew and everything he did to help others, and because of all those people out there still struggling like my son struggled.”
2023-46
September 29, 2023
BC United questions $200K funding to group selling tested illegal street drugs. Jeremy Kalikum, meanwhile said he knows the DULF initiative could land him in legal trouble one day, and that he’s welcomes an opportunity to test Canada’s drug laws under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in court.
“If doing that and saving lives means I am a criminal and I am going to jail, that’s just the way it is,” he said.
2023-45
September 28, 2023
Le Manitoba pourrait égaler ou dépasser le record de 418 décès par surdose d’opioïdes de l’an dernier, mais il est peu question de cette crise dans la campagne électorale manitobaine. Des familles et intervenants touchés souhaiteraient que l’attention soit davantage dirigée vers cet enjeu oublié.
2023-44
September 22, 2023
A Deputation Cut Off at Tuesday's Public Meeting on Council's Anti-Homeless Motion. EBO Contributing Member Christine Nayler (Ryan’s Hope and MSTH member) spoke at Tuesday night's Public Meeting, but her deputation was cut short. The following is the full deputation she had planned.
2023-43
September 21, 2023
“Decriminalization needs to involve a reallocation of funds that is currently spent criminalizing people and instead spend it on housing, funding overdose prevention sites, health care and social programs that prevent people from using drugs in the first place,” Karen Ward said. “Living outside is terrible and awful and people use drugs to cope — it’s a consequence, not a cause,” she said. “Decriminalization is not the cause of these issues or of toxicity deaths.”
2023-42
September 21, 2023
Our allies from the We Will Recover Society were awarded global recognition in the community category by the International Council of Shopping Centres for their amazing display of Indigenous culture, combined with harm reduction Information at a shopping centre in Lethbridge AB in 2022. Well done raising awareness and saving lives.
2023-41
September 21, 2023
Lawyer Chris Wiebe, who is representing Lana Greene (MSTH MEMBER), said her sons death demonstrates gaps in mental health and addiction supports provided to prisoners. "The lack of access to adequate health care was one of the the systemic failures that TJ experienced at the Edmonton Remand Centre, which pushed him to the point of despair, and that had tragic consequences," Wiebe said. Court case is schedule for February 26, 27 & 28, 2024 in Edmonton.
2023-40
September 21, 2023
The number of people accessing a prescribed safe supply (PSS) of illicit drugs in B.C. has dropped by more than 11 per cent over four months according to the provincial government, although the reasons for the decrease are unclear. Corey Ranger, president of the Harm Reduction Nurses' Association and MSTH Board of Director.
2023-39
September 20th, 2023
New Brunswick’s involuntary drug rehab law wouldn’t be a solution to extreme addiction: Advocates, health-care professionals and academics call on government to abandon its conceptual legislation. Emily Bodechon from Moms Stop The Harm
2023-38
September 19, 2023
ORIGINAL PAPER: “I don't chase drugs as much anymore, and I'm not dead’: Client reported outcomes associated with safer opioid supply programs in Ontario, Canada
Rose A. Schmidt, Nat Kaminski, David T. Kryszajtys, Katherine Rudzinski, Melissa Perri, Adrian Guta, Anita C. Benoit, Ahmed M. Bayoumi, Laurel Challacombe, Jessica Hales, Kathleen Kenny, Gillian Kolla, Emmet O'Reilly, Andrea Sereda, Nanky Rai, Carol Strike
2023-37
September 18, 2023
Criticism mounts over N.B. public safety minister's plan to force drug users into rehab
2023-36
September 17, 2023
Last year, more than 7,300 Canadians died of apparent opioid overdoses. What can we do to reduce the number of drug deaths in Canada? Cross Canada Check Up with guest Elaine Hyshka
2023-35
September 15, 2023
A 3 part series: Stories from completely different walks of life-who all met the same devastating fate. Exploring how we got into the mess that is the #opioidcrisis & how to stop the steadily rising drug poisoning deaths?
So much to absorb. LISTEN to every part! Moms Stop The Harm members Mary Breen and Kathleen Radu share their stories.
2023-34
September 13, 2023
Revealed: 8 people died at B.C. recovery home hailed as groundbreaking. Rising Sun Villas were supposed to offer housing to marginalized people. Inside, residents died as staff warned their phone line was too spotty to call for help
2023-33
September 11, 2023
Listen at the 14 minute mark into the broadcast.
Isabelle Fortier from Moms Stop The Harm talks about the many overdoses that happened within an hour in the Montreal area. The crisis in Quebec WILL get much worse.
2023-32
September 7, 2023
CBC Alberta at Noon: As the toxic drug crisis continues - why has it been so difficult to stop this tragedy?
Listen to Drs. Elaine Hyshka and Esther Tailfeathers
2023-31
September 7, 2023
Nanaimo marks International Overdose Awareness Day, Speeches and stories from an Aug 31 event held in Maffeo Sutton Park to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. Featuring the voices of many including Wanda LeBlanc (MSTH member)
2023-30
September 5, 2023
Parksville, BC - Jane McCormick (MSTH member) shared the tragic loss of her son Jeffrey, who died at 35 years old in 2021 and left behind two children. According to the initial coroners report, he died from a high level of fentanyl, with benzodiazepines mixed in.
2023-29
September 5, 2023
Wetaskiwin, AB - Rhonda Watt (MSTH member) has been doing outreach to address drug poisonings in the community and advocating for awareness. Her son, Eric, was 19 when he died of an overdose in 2017.
2023-28
September 2, 2023
Peterborough, ON - Families share their grief to combat stigma at annual overdose awareness day, “We need to demand safe supply for everyone,” event organizer Gail Parry (MSTH member) says.
2023-27
September 1, 2023
VIDEO: Langley honours more than 300 lost to toxic drug supply on Aug. 31. Over 100 people gathered at Douglas Park to share stories for Overdose Awareness Day.
2023-26
September 1, 2023
Lethbridge, AB - Overdose awareness event shines spotlight on impact of drug crisis. Lori Hatfield (MSTH member), spoke to reporters during the event.
2023-25
August 31, 2023
PRINCE GEORGE – Dozens of people gathered at Veterans Plaza today to bring awareness and have conversations about International Overdose Awareness Day including Sacha Molby and Corinne Woods ((MSTH members and Healing Hearts.)
2023-24
August 31, 2023
St. Thomas, ON - Anna Maria Iredale is a member of Moms Stop The Harm, a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-use-related harms and deaths.
2023-23
August 31, 2023
Co-founder of Mom's Stop the Harm, Leslie McBain, in a conversation about International Overdose Awareness Day and the work needed to be done to tackle the drug poisoning crisis in B.C.
2023-22
August 31, 2023
Moms Stop The Harm pampering the unhoused of Kelowna. BC., to mark overdose awareness day. Helen Jennens from MSTH.
2023-21
August 31, 2023
The BC Nurses Union says it supports the work of community members and advocacy groups — like Moms Stop the Harm — who call for preventative health-care policies to address the crisis and save lives. “These include expanded harm reduction services like safe consumption sites, better access to safe supply, province-wide investments in mental health, treatment, and recovery services, and ending the criminalization of people who use drugs.
2023-20
August 31, 2023
Overdose Awareness Day vigil held in Kelowna BC., park. Moms Stop the Harm holds the event to remember those who have died as a result of the toxic drug supply crisis. Helen Jennens.
2023-19
August 31, 2023
Ontario Morning from CBC Radio. Breaking the stigma on International Overdose Awareness Day - Andrea Keller (MSTH member) - A Kingston nurse and mother who lost her son 6 years ago to overdose.
2023-18
August 31, 2023
Kitchener Waterloo, ON Mom Christine Padaric (MSTH member) whose 2 sons died from overdoses says it's critical parents talk to their kids about drugs and addiction.
2023-17
August 31, 2023
'Recovery is possible': Regina, SK recognizes International Overdose Awareness Day. Jenny Churchill (MSTH member) - “It’s recognizing those people who go unseen. That is people who have died, their families and friends.”
2023-16
August 31, 2023
'It could happen to anybody': Why these Sask. organizations want you to be aware of drug overdoses. Jenny Churchill, Cheryl Deschene and Krista Mansbridge (MSTH members) offered a warning.
2023-15
August 31, 2023
MSTH Moms and members remembering IOAD at Kitts Beach in Vancouver, BC. Deb Bailey and Sharene Shuster.
2023-14
August 31, 2023
Edmontonians remember loved ones on International Overdose Awareness Day. Rhonda Pouliot (MSTH member) and Petra Schulz (MSTH co-founder).
2023-13
August 31, 2023
Petra Schulz, co-founder of Moms Stop The Harm, lost her son in 2014 to an overdose. She joins Edmonton AM for a conversation about the drug poisoning crisis and her advocacy to keep drug users safe.
2023-12
August 31, 2023
British Columbia declared a public health emergency in 2016 as deaths from an increasingly toxic supply of illicit drugs skyrocketed. Now, more than 12,000 people in the province have died from toxic drugs, according to the B.C. Coroners Service, in a crisis that appears to be unrelenting.
This project is in memory of lives lost in B.C. Here are 34 of their stories.
2023-11
August 30, 2023
Her son died of drug toxicity 5 years ago. Every year since, she's honoured his memory with a purple chair - Kamloops.
2023-10
August 30, 2023
Kamloops mother calling on the Province to take strong action to reduce the toxic drug supply. Janice Laplante's (MSTH member) son, Alexander, died age 25 in February 2019.
2023-09
August 30, 2023
Petra Schulz, co-founder of MSTH speaks to Alberta Prime Time advocating for evidence-based drug policies. We need a comprehensive approach to the drug poisoning crisis.
2023-08
August 20, 2023
With thousands of N.W.T. evacuees in Alberta, local experts fear impact of toxic drug crisis. Petra Schulz (MSTH co-founder).
2023-07
August 2, 2023
Alberta premier’s addictions mandate includes controversial involuntary treatment law. Euan Thomson. (MSTH ally)
2023-06
July 29, 2023
2,662 Days of Grief and Counting Preparing for IOAD 2023 - Corey Ranger (MSTH Board of Director).
2023-05
July 28, 2023
Advocates hope rookie minister Liberal MP Ya’ara Saks acts quickly to tackle a wave of overdose deaths.
2023-04
July 25, 2023
Lethbridge, AB Protesters rally against fencing for Galt Gardens; council rejects motion to explore idea.
2023-03
July 10, 2023
Harm Reduction in Victoria. BC.
2023-02
July 6, 2023
Alberta hits record number of opioid-related EMS calls, half of them in Edmonton.
2023-01
June 27, 2023
Lethbridge, AB sees highest rate of opioid deaths in AB in April ‘23.