Tag: Ottawa

Woodstein Media Podcast Episode 30: Ruth Fox discusses the loss of her son to drug poisoning, Moms Stop the Harm, and failures of Canada’s drug policy

Posted on by Colin Burrowes

On this episode, Ruth Fox, Regional Director for Moms Stop the Harm, spoke to me about her experience losing her son, Trevor, who died from accidental drug poisoning in his home.
Trevor was 25 years old and had a full and promising life ahead of him in his community. He was a valued employee in a career he enjoyed and was adored by a supportive family and numerous friends.
Ruth became aware of Moms Stop the Harm shortly after Trevor’s death and has found the community of understanding, compassion and support the organization offers invaluable. Through the work the group does, she learned more about the harms caused by Canada’s failed drug policies and the way people who use drugs are treated.

Drug User Liberation Front saves lives by distributing clean meth, cocaine and heroin

Posted on by Colin Burrowes

This is the first feature in a three-part series diving into aspects of the opioid pandemic, the overdose crisis, whatever you wish to call it. It is a public health crisis which became exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Canada’s Public Health database, there was a 95 percent increase in apparent opioid toxicity deaths from April 2020 to March 2021,  with a total of 7,224 deaths, compared to 3,711 deaths from April 2019 to March 2020. Since then, deaths have remained high.

These statistics were published in March 2022 and only went as far as September 2021, but by that point, 5,368 apparent opioid toxicity deaths had occurred. This is approximately 20 deaths per day. For a similar timeframe in the years before the pandemic, there were between 7 in 2016 and 12 in 2018 deaths per day.

Perth-Wellington MP John Nater proposes slowing the flow of media Bill C-18

Posted on by Colin Burrowes

Bill C-18, an act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada, was the focus of discussion in the House of Commons on May 13. The Bill is intended to protect news media who currently have their work pilfered by online platforms such as Google and Facebook without proper compensation.

Nater moved that the motion be amended to read that Bill C-18  be “not now read a second time but that the Order be discharged, the Bill withdrawn and the subject matter thereof referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.”

Roller derby will bounce back, skates are already hitting the track: Ottawa edition

Posted on by Colin Burrowes

As pandemic-related restrictions loosen, many people across Southern Ontario and beyond are hoping they can lace up their roller skates and hit the roller derby track again. This series of articles will check in with teams as they prepare for some action in 2022. This time, sharing the progress of their league are Ottawa Roller Derby’s Bethany Vowles-Hartree and Alyx Gardner, who some people in the derby community might know as  RapunzHell #666 and Coco Flannel, respectively.