THEVOICE |

2

Opioid
deaths
prompt
lobbying

Burnaby's drug deaths
from opioids called a
hidden crisis’

= By DESIREE GARCIA

Te previously unseen issue
of Burnaby’s drug-overdose
crisis is being put in the
spotlight this month as local social-
action groups lobby to make it a fo-
cus of political and public attention.

‘The Burnaby task force on home-
lessness and the Society to End
Homelessness in Burnaby have
teamed up recently to start dia-
logues about overdose and opioid
deaths in Burnaby.

“This is really a hidden crisis in
Burnaby,” said Karen O’Shannacery,
who works with the society. “The
purpose of the overdose dialogues is
to reduce the stigma [and] start the
conversations because it really does
affect so many people.”

O’Shannacery said that although
Burnaby does not see as many drug-
related deaths as in Vancouver or
Surrey, it’s still an issue that needs
to be addressed.

A report by the British Colum-
bia Coroners Service showed that
Burnaby has experienced 23 illicit-
drug-related deaths so far in 2018.
In 2017, there were 44. Burnaby
also experienced the seventh-high-
est number of drug-related deaths
in in the province in 2017.

| “The purpose of the |
overdose dialogues
is to reduce the
stigma [and] start
the conversations
because it really
does affect so many
people.”

— KAREN O'SHANNACERY, SOCIETY TO END
HOMLESSNESS IN BURNABY

Miranda Vecchio, executive di-
rector at the Charlford House Soci-
ety for Women, said most drug us-
ers feel ashamed of their addictions
and, as a result, choose to use alone
in a private space.

Vecchio said a consistent problem
in Burnaby is that people who need
help are not aware of the services
available in their own community
and resort to getting help in other
cities like New Westminster or
Vancouver.

B.C. has experienced a dramatic
increase in overdose deaths for the
past three years as a result of local
dealers mixing in fentanyl with oth-
er drugs sold to users. There were
over 1,450 deaths throughout the
province in 2017.

Longtime Burnaby councillor
Pietro Calendino said Burnaby is
not immune to the overdose crisis
sweeping the province, but he said
reports he receives as the chair of the
public safety committee in Burnaby
show that numbers are currently
low in drug-related deaths.

“We do have some emergency,
certainly, but it’s not an alarm,”
Calendino said.

THURSDAY, NOV. 8, 2018 |

EDITOR NEIL AMSLER

Atlarge

<—
¥ erections hare

prin PACKAGE

pierino YOUR BALLOT
comPl

” 2018 Refe.

: oe rendum on Electoral Reform
im
Z Ballot
inst coy
Instructions: T:
: IS! ee Hu in the oval © to the right of your choic lik
i es, lil
ot pen or marker. Do not use pencil, ain
: : = Question 1
o @ ich system should Briti
Bee ° lish
- eee eee ones Columbia use for provincial
a
las The current First Past the Post voting system

A proportional representation voting system

Question 2

adopts a propo,

which of the following voting Heres |
(Rank in order of Preference. Yo i
three of the systems.) i

/f British Columbia
representation votin,

Ss
you prefer? ene

May choose to Support one, two or all

ot soor

Dual Member Proportional (DMP)

Mi
‘xed Member Proportional (MMP)

Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP)

rop-off jocations

our be alc one

eee

Visit CTC Pet

re 4:30 p.m. on Frid eae
e get it before thé

1st Choice 2nd Choi ice 3rd Choice

November SO

Richmond Coun. Bill McNulty calls these options for electoral reform "dangerous,’ while his council colleague Harold Steves believes they will provide true
representation for a diverse community. British Columbians have until Nov. 30 to vote in the referendum on electoral reform. GABRIELLE PLONKA PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

PR vote ie splits Richmond

City councillors differ on proportional representation

= By GABRIELLE PLONKA

ichmond’s recently elected

city council is divided on

partisan lines about wheth-

t a move to proportional
representation would be a positive
change for B.C.

Councillors Bill McNulty and
Linda McPhail from the Richmond
First party and independent Alexa
Loo are against electoral reform,
which British Columbians are vot-
ing on until Nov. 30. They say the
referendum ballot is too confusing,
options for change are too vague
and proportional representation may

leave out minority groups.

But councillors Harold Steves
from the Richmond Community
Association party and Michael
Wolfe from the Richmond Indepen-
dent Team of Electors are in favour
of proportional representation be-
cause they believe the current system
doesn’t accurately reflect the wishes
of voters.

Steves said that Richmond’s di-
verse community requires more
representation than is offered by the
current first-past-the-post system.

“For the last 45 years, my vote
hasn't counted,” Steves said. “My
vote doesn’t count towards the over-

all establishment of the number
of votes the government gets and I
think that’s wrong.”

The referendum, which comes
from a campaign promise made
by Premier John Horgan, has been
hotly debated within the provincial
government, with NDP and Green
members supporting it while B.C.
Liberals are opposed.

For McNulty and McPhail, a ma-
jor issue with the referendum is with
the ballot itself, which they say is too
confusing for voters to make an edu-
cated decision.

“They have no plan,” McNulty
said. “That is very dangerous. The

thing is, you don’t know what youre
approving.”

Wolfe said that some ambiguity
on the ballot is to be expected when
presenting new ideas.

“These are made-in-B.C.  solu-
tions, so we shouldn't have it all fig-
ured out,” Wolfe said. “We're trying
to find the best way to represent a
diverse population.”

For Wolfe, the onus is on voters
to educate themselves on different
types of proportional representation
before reading the ballot, a task that
should be easy with the abundance
of explanatory resources available
online.

Trustee

Barb Parrott says
Indigenous-focus
school needs to
remain open

m By LISA STEACY

newly elected Vancouver
school board trustee has
promised to secure ongo-

ing funding and support for the
city’s only Indigenous focus school.

‘The continued operation of the
Xpey elementary school in East
Vancouver is only ensured through
2020.

COPE trustee Barb Parrott, who
started her term Nov. 5, included a
promise in her campaign to sustain
the school. “For starters, when I’m
on the board, I won't agree to close
the school,” she said.

The board’s Indigenous focus
school opened in 2012. It was
slated for closure in 2015 due to a

pledges

combination of low enrolment and
the need for costly seismic upgrad-
ing.

Pressure from the school’s par-
ent advisory council resulted in
the current commitment to keep
the school open until 2020. It was
given the Musqueam name Xpey’
in a traditional naming ceremony
in 2018.

Although the school is open to
Indigenous and non-Indigenous
students, Parrott said that a crucial
part of the school’s mandate is to
improve outcomes for Indigenous
students.

“The achievement gap continues
to be wide between Indigenous
students and non-Indigenous stu-
dents. One of the things that re-
search has shown that keeps kids
in school and helps them achieve
up to their potential is a sense of
belonging,” she said.

According to board data, the
overall graduation rate for Vancou-
ver high school students in 2016-
2017 was 89 per cent. For Indig-

enous students, it was 47 per cent.

to save

Richard Stanley's twin daugh-
ters were two of the 13 students
who attended Xpey’ when it first
opened as a mini-school within
the MacDonald elementary school
at Hastings and Victoria.

“The school has been a wonder-

“WE FRENCH
Tg HE TOOK

AN
AY OUM@WAN
GwiNwH 15s

A banner at Xpey' elementary school in East Vancouver celebrates the school's
diversity. Eighty-five per cent are Indigenous. scoTT NEUFELD SUBMITTED PHOTO

school

ful, warm, nurturing environment
for our girls. All of their needs
— academic, emotional, cultural
— have been met over and over
again,” he said.

The school serves 85 students
from kindergarten to Grade 7.

‘

ANZ
Lae