Date of publication: 12 Apr 2022 • 1 hour ago • 4 minutes reading • 88 comments Prime Minister Justin Trinto (right) speaks with a businessman at Start Up Edmonton on Tuesday 12 April 2022. The Prime Minister is in Edmonton to promote the 2022 federal budget. Photo by Larry Wong / Postmedia
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Prime Minister Justin Trinto says the Alberta government is ignoring science in its approach to the opioid crisis.
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During a standoff in Edmonton on Tuesday, Trinto said he discussed increasing drug poisoning across the province with Mayor Amarjeet Sohi on Monday night, adding that both were “extremely concerned”. “We know that science-based, community-based solutions are a huge part of that, so as a government we continue to push for safe places to eat. “It’s unfortunate to see that Alberta seems to be moving in the opposite direction, away from the science-based approach and harm reduction,” Trinto said. “The reality is, here in Alberta, we have seen a lot of tragedies around the opioid epidemic,” Truedau said. His comments come after Edmonton City Council decided Monday to consider a request for exemption from federal rules that control the mere possession of illicit substances in the hope of reducing drug poisoning deaths. Trinto was asked if the Edmonton Council, if it goes ahead with the effort, can expect to receive approval by 2023. “We will welcome their request when it comes,” said Trinto, who added that the federal government was already working through a similar implementation by British Columbia. “We will make sure that we are based on science, relying on the support of people,” Trinto said. In response, Eric Engler, spokesman for Deputy Secretary of State for Mental Health and Addiction Mike Ellis, wrote on Twitter that Trinto’s comments were “embarrassing” because they did not recognize the importance of recovery.
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Oh, and not to mention their favorite solution to publicly procuring addictive drugs has no evidence to support it. So much for tracking the evidence…
– Eric Engler (@ eengler17) April 12, 2022
The prime minister’s comments come after Alberta reported a record number of drug poisoning deaths. Of the 1,771 killed by overdose in the province in 2021, 1,610 or 91 percent died from apparent opioid poisoning.
The Alberta government has focused heavily on recovering from addiction, spending $ 140 million over four years to develop a recovery-oriented care system and community service network for addicts, which has been strengthened by another $ 20 million. dollars per year starting in 2022. Ellis’s office and the prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to Postmedia’s request for comment Tuesday.
Trinto reiterated Sochi’s statements to the media on Monday afternoon, after the mayor pressed him to proceed with the changes during a committee meeting, saying the situation required action.
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“We have a crisis on our streets. “We have a crisis in our homes, where the people of Edmonton are dying because of drug poisoning and the crisis of our addictions,” Sochi said. Sohi said he did not support the legalization of drugs or trafficking, but rather the end of the rules on personal possession. He said 85 per cent of drug charges in Edmonton were for personal use and that ending it would free up police resources.
Keystone XL “a decision for the US”
Trinto’s trip to Alberta comes as Joe Manchin, a Democratic senator for West Virginia and chairman of the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, visited the county to discuss Alberta’s energy Monday and Monday. Tuesday. Prime Minister Jason Kenney has said he would like to see the Keystone XL pipeline extension revived after his assassination by US President Joe Biden.
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Manchin said the KXL brand is gone, but could be renamed and pipelines are the safest way to transport oil and gas. “I can not guarantee that there is a company here that wants to reinvest, or if the management is going to have fun, but it would be foolish not to do so,” Manchin said. However, Trinto said his government has supported the project, but its fate rests with US lawmakers. “This is a decision for the United States. “We have consistently continued to support Canada as an energy partner in the United States, whether it is traditional energy such as oil and gas or renewable energy,” he said. The Prime Minister said that the current pressures on global oil supply, which have been exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, create an opportunity for Canadian producers to meet and aggressively pursue emission reduction targets.
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“We know there will be a growing need for reliable, secure, sustainable energy sources in Alberta, and Alberta’s energy sector is already investing heavily in transforming itself to meet those needs in the future,” Trindo said. His appearance in Edmonton focused on advertising the government’s proposed efforts to boost small businesses. The federal budget, released last week, promises to raise the capital limit so that more small businesses can access a nine percent tax rate of up to $ 50 million in capital, instead of the current $ 15 million limit. “We want to apply this tax rate to encourage more businesses to grow,” Trinto said. Ottawa is also investing $ 1 billion in a Canadian innovation and investment firm that aims to encourage businesses to spend on research and development. Trinto was also scheduled to meet with local small businesses and members of the city’s Ukrainian and Afghan communities and visit a nature-based solution lab to highlight investment in green technologies. [email protected] twitter.com/reportrix
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