It was the second day of the Calgary Stampede, a 10-day bonanza of cowboy-themed festivities in the Canadian province most stereotyped by its beef, oil, and country music. Nearly every local business had shut down for the week. “It’s our biggest holiday. You just don’t mess with the Stampede,” Calgary-born Mandy Alston tells me nearly […] More »

As fentanyl rears its ugly head across Canadian communities, the country is trying to mount a counterattack against the deadly opioid. And while cities beyond Vancouver and Toronto wait for government approval to open supervised injection sites, naloxone—the lone antidote in the battle against the ubiquitous street drug—remains scarce, according to a recent Canadian Medical […] More »

Pacing frantically around her living room, Audrey yelled at herself in frustration: “Just put down the fucking phone!” It was mid-February and, having been sober since New Year’s Day, Audrey, 35, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy, decided to see a show with friends at Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall. After getting ready […] More »

Except for a long line at the barbecue, where hungry older folk wait for a free meal, most people have left Oppenheimer Park for the day. But not Jim McLeod, who’s clutching a hot dog wrinkled with the cold, so engrossed in telling me his story that he’s forgotten about his dinner. It’s late February […] More »

Vancouver’s Insite facility. Photo courtesy of Vancouver Coastal Health. Ottawa: The feds “I’ve made it very clear to my department that there should be no unnecessary barriers for communities who want to open supervised consumption sites.”—Jane Philpott, federal health minister Progress report Bill C-37 was tabled in December 2016 to simplify the process of opening […] More »