Articles by Camille Bains, The Canadian Press

Apr 24 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — The federal government will split funding for bus service on rural routes abandoned by Greyhound in northern Ontario and Western Canada but Transport Minister Marc Garneau says only British Columbia has so far taken him up on the offer. "This is something that for over 60 years has been a provincial responsibility," he said of Ottawa's decision not to subsidize Greyhound or […]

Apr 17 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUER, B.C. — Police in Vancouver are asking parents to have a "tough" conversation with their teenagers about the dangers associated with marijuana at a large unsanctioned 4-20 event while city and park board officials call on organizers to pay for policing costs. Sgt. Jason Robillard said Wednesday the 25th annual event, featuring vendors selling marijuana, baked edibles and drug paraphernalia, […]

Apr 16 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — Canadian researchers have identified genes in brain cancer stem cells that fuel the growth and survival of glioblastoma in hopes their data will be mined to develop treatments targeting an aggressive tumour that claimed the life of Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie. The major challenge is that even after 99 per cent of a […]

Apr 14 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — Patient safety is at risk in British Columbia because of changes to the 911 dispatch system, says a fire chief who has instructed city staff to ask for an ambulance during medical emergencies. Nick Delmonico of the Port Coquitlam Fire Department said aspects of a so-called clinical response model adopted by BC Emergency Health Services last […]

Apr 3 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — The federal health minister is forming a national task force to provide input on how to better prevent, treat and manage chronic pain, which affects one in five Canadians and is often addressed with opioids. Ginette Petitpas Taylor said in an interview Wednesday the task force will provide information on barriers that may prevent people suffering with persistent pain from receiving the […]

Mar 28 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — Canada's prisoner service is considering opening overdose prevention sites as it expands a needle-exchange program that is now offered at a fifth institution for offenders who inject smuggled drugs. In a statement, the Correctional Service of Canada says it "is in the early stages of exploring overdose prevention sites as another harm-reduction measure option for inmates." […]

Mar 26 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — British Columbia's housing policies are allowing landlords to evict drug users in Vancouver's rooming houses and there's little or no recourse for people to defend themselves against a practice that is often illegal and creates a risk of overdose, a new study says. The study by the BC Centre on Substance Use says low-income tenants living in private and non-profit single-room […]

Mar 22 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — A judge has ordered the RCMP to provide copies of the content on seven electronic devices to an executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies after they were seized at Vancouver's airport during her arrest. Justice Heather Holmes of the British Columbia Supreme Court said in an order issued after a brief hearing Friday that the RCMP must make copies […]

Mar 22 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — Researchers in British Columbia have designed a "robot" that helps reduce pain for premature babies by simulating skin-to-skin contact with a parent who may not be available during around-the-clock procedures in a neonatal intensive care unit. Lead inventor and occupational therapist Liisa Holsti said the Calmer device is a rectangular platform that replaces a mattress inside […]

Mar 21 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — A transgender woman whose case against Canada's oldest rape crisis centre was dismissed by the courts says she hopes the City of Vancouver's decision to refuse the shelter funding will help change policies. Kimberly Nixon, 61, filed a human rights complaint against Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter in 1995 after she was refused training to work as a volunteer peer counsellor […]

Mar 20 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — Memories of vomiting, diarrhea and unrelenting stomach pain as he withdrew from opioids in prison had Rob MacDonald repeatedly asking for addiction treatment before he left a maximum-security facility but despite dozens of formal complaints, he says he didn't get any help. "I was thinking, 'Wow, I can't believe I'm going out onto the street with this addiction,'" MacDonald […]

Mar 8 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — Facebook should ban posts by so-called anti-vaxxers in order to protect children against measles and other contagious diseases, says a British Columbia mother who launched a petition urging parents to start home schooling if they're against immunization. Katie Clunn of Maple Ridge said Friday the social media giant must go beyond reducing its distribution of such content […]

Mar 3 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — Canadians addicted to opioids may be eligible for an implant that provides an ongoing low dose of medication for six months, with the potential for treatment for up to a year when a new implant is placed in the opposite arm. The procedure involves trained physicians inserting match-stick sized rods under the skin of the upper arm, each containing the medication buprenorphine. Health Canada approved […]

Feb 26 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — A critical care doctor is warning British Columbians about a "sinister" deadly mushroom and the importance of health-care providers recognizing signs of poisoning from a variety that is spreading along the Pacific coast. Dr. Omar Ahmad, head of critical care and emergency medicine for Island Health, said the so-called death cap mushroom can easily be mistaken for edible varieties […]

Feb 21 2019 — Camille Bains, The Canadian Press — VANCOUVER — The BC Centre on Substance Use is proposing a policy to sell legally regulated heroin as part of an urgent response to reduce opioid overdose deaths from a toxic drug supply that is profiting organized crime groups. It is recommending the use of so-called heroin compassion clubs and buyers clubs, similar to those that emerged in the 1980s and […]