Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 26, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM Last-Kolb recently wrote an op-ed piece for the Free Press to lobby for a safe-supply model which would allow people access to drugs that have been tested, as an alternative to the toxic illegal drug supply. Kathryn Braun, director of the chief medical examiner’s office, said “down,” of which there are many vari- ants, is the street drug that accounts for most drug-related deaths. It is a cocktail of illicit substances, with fentanyl and methamphetamine common in almost every variant. “Each variant of ‘down’ will also have other substances added in… to increase potency and the subjective ‘high,’” Braun wrote in an email to the Free Press. She said the drugs that are respon- sible for most of the fatalities are fentanyl, para-fluorofentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. There has been an increasing prev- alence of potent benzodiazepines in “down” cocktails, Braun said. Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said Monday the government is concerned about the toxic drug supply “and continues to work on solutions to the addictions crisis. We are committed to addressing the impacts of substance use in our communities, especially after years of neglect.” She has said the NDP government supports the opening of a supervised drug consumption site to prevent toxic overdose deaths. A November mandate letter from Premier Wab Kinew directed her to establish a site in downtown Winnipeg to “save lives and connect Manitobans with health care and social supports.” Smith was also directed to create systems for testing toxic drugs, expand detox beds and addiction treatment options and take a harm-reduction approach to the addictions crisis. No timeline has been given for a supervised consumption site. The NDP will unveil its first budget April 2. The former Progressive Conserva- tive government rejected supervised consumption sites and instead focuses on addictions treatment. Willis said a multi-faceted approach is necessary. Many users assisted by St. Boniface Street Links take drugs in their homes or the homes of people they know, she said. “We need to come together and real- ize the ‘using population’ is not all the same,” she said. Last-Kolb said images of people “shooting up” on the street are polariz- ing and stigmatizing. “They didn’t all die on the street,” she said of those who died in 2023. Suspected drug-related deaths are identified by the chief medical exam- iner based on analysis of toxicology reports, reviews of circumstances and autopsy findings. Final or confirmed statistics are reported once medical examinations are fully completed. — with files from Malak Abas chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca NEWS TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2024 VOL 153 NO 115 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2024 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published six days a week in print and always online at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 Interim CEO / DARREN MURPHY Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Business B5 Classifieds D7 Comics C5 Diversions C6,7 Horoscope C4 Miss Lonelyhearts C4 Obituaries D6 Opinion A6,7 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather B8 COLUMNISTS: Rochelle Squires A7 Peter Denton A7 Taylor Allen D3 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada “We’re glad the court saw it our way, that the province was wrong.” In 2019, the then-Progressive Con- servative government put an end to the practice. One year later, it passed legis- lation to prevent children in care from suing the province to get the money back. The province was taken to court again and lost. In 2022, Justice James Edmond ruled that the province violated equality rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by denying a benefit to the claimant group — among “the most vul- nerable members of our society” — that is not denied to others. “This is righting a wrong,” Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said when asked to comment Monday at an unre- lated event at The Forks. The minister wouldn’t comment on specifics of when and how cheques would be issued. She said when the NDP formed gov- ernment in October, her “No. 1 priority” was to enter into negotiations to “make children whole.” The Manitoba Métis Federation said vulnerable kids in care lost out on the federal benefit that other Canadian children received. “It should have been coming all along, just like the child tax benefit,” Mona Buors said Monday. “This rightfully belongs to them,” Buors said. “Some will have bigger set- tlements than others depending on how many years they’ve been in our system. The main difference it’s going to make for them is they’re going to have a brighter future because they’re going to have this money coming to them,” she said. The $530-million settlement includes the cost of legal fees and administration. The claimants will be awarded based on the principle amount of the benefits they had clawed back between 2005 and 2019, plus interest and 20 per cent awarded for discrimination damages, said lawyer Chris Saxberg at Cochrane Saxberg LLP. For example, a child who had $10,000 in federal benefits clawed back would receive that amount, plus interest, plus damages that are calculated at 20 per cent, or $2,000. He said it will take months for the legal process and a dis- tribution plan to be completed. Those who’ve taken part in the class action lawsuit have time to opt out and file their own lawsuit, Flette said. In the meantime,the litigation guard- ian said they’ll work closely with agen- cies that have information about where the kids and young adults currently live. “We have a number of groups here in this class because there are children who are still in care, children who are minors but who’ve returned home so they’re no longer in care and we’ll also have those kids who’ve aged out.” They’re looking at ways to distribute their settlement money to them. “There’s a number of categories of kids that we want to look at (and) what the best way is to do this, in a way that’s beneficial to them and that actually does compensate for harm and doesn’t cause future harm.” As for Malcolm-Baptiste, he said the money will help but it’s not what he missed the most growing up. “The one thing I always thought about was to be with my family, the people I love,” said Malcolm-Baptiste. Being a parent himself now “is a treasure,” he said. “I tell myself ‘just be that person you needed when you were young.’ That’s what I am for my kids. I’m goofy, I’m playful, I’m open and very expressive. I’m big on love.” He said he doesn’t carry around regrets about being in foster care. “I’ve been able to keep my spirit alive to show kids there’s more to life than what they’ve designed for us.” — with files from Tyler Searle carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca CFS ● FROM A1 DEATHS ● FROM A1 PHOTOS BY MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Trudy Lavallee (left) and Elsie Flette (right) speak at the announcement of a settlement with the Manitoba government to repay children in care for clawing back federal payments. Restaurants falling short on food-safety concerns: expert NICOLE BUFFIE P REPARING food in unsanitary con- ditions and using unclean surfaces and tools led the way in violations that resulted in the temporary closure of nine Winnipeg restaurants by prov- incial health inspectors in the past three months. Since Jan. 30, nine establishments were ordered closed because of unsani- tary conditions, while two were shut- tered due to rodents or pests, the prov- ince said in a recent health protection report. The list is regularly released and de- tails infractions at restaurants, swim- ming pools and water recreational fa- cilities and body-modification parlours. The report includes restaurants Tan- door House on Keewatin Street and Ming Court on Edmonton Street. Tandoor House was ordered to close on March 15 due to preparing foods under insanitary conditions, failing to take effective measures against the entry and presence of rodents and failing to ensure foods were protected from contamination. An employee at Tandoor House said the restaurant is closed for renovations and expected to reopen Wednesday, but wouldn’t comment on the order to close. Of the nine establishments required to close for unsanitary conditions, four have yet to reopen, the March 22 report said. Keith Warriner, a professor of food science at the University of Guelph who specializes in food microbiology, said in recent years he’s seen food handlers become increasingly careless when it comes to maintaining safe conditions. “(Restaurant) owners have been looking at inspectors as educators and they’ll say, ‘Don’t worry, the inspector will come and they’ll tell us what to do’ — but that defeats the whole object,” he said. “The responsibility for food safe- ty is on a food business owner… they’ve got so reliant on people telling them what they have to do that they don’t use their common sense and do it and be the leaders themselves.” The consequences of cooking in un- clean environments can range from minor illness such as a sore stomach or what’s known as the “24-hour flu” to potentially fatal infections includ- ing salmonella, listeria and botulism, Warriner said, adding even if someone doesn’t get sick from eating bad food, they can be a carrier of infection to others. While the standards exist as a safe- ty mechanism, Warriner admits some regulations have become too complex for businesses to follow and is advocat- ing for simplified regulations across the country. “If you’ve got regulations that need a consultant, or even an inspector to tell you about them, there’s something wrong,” he said. “Inspectors aren’t there to educate, the inspectors are there to inspect.” However, the professor said the COVID-19 pandemic and recent food- borne illness outbreaks should be a lesson to business owners in safe food handling. In September 2023 multiple daycares in the Calgary area reported E. coli in- fections among children, which later led to 356 lab-confirmed and 90 prob- able cases of the infection. Thirty-eight children and one adult were hospital- ized. Health officials later said meatloaf and vegan loaf meals prepared in a shared kitchen and served at the day- cares led to the initial infections. The City of Calgary laid charges against a local catering company. In November, the Public Health Agency of Canada issued a food recall for two brands of pre-cut cantaloupe traced to a nationwide salmonella out- break. As of January, the PHAC said the outbreak infected 190 people and killed nine. No infections or deaths were reported in Manitoba. nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca ;