Posted on

Saskatoon and Regina hold events advocating for more harm reduction supports | Globalnews.ca

Saskatoon and Regina hold events advocating for more harm reduction supports  | Globalnews.ca

The number of overdose deaths in Saskatchewan has more than tripled over the past six years.

That’s according to the Saskatchewan Coroner’s Service, who said 366 deaths were reported in 2021, compared to 92 in 2016.

Wednesday is International Overdose Awareness Day, and people gathered at the Saskatoon Indian and Metis Friendship Centre to get the point across that this was a growing issue, and supports are needed.

Jocelyn Trotchie works with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan, and said the province needs to know.

Read more:

Sask. advocates paint chairs purple for those lost to overdose

Read More

“We need to keep reminding the government, the health officials, that this is a crisis right now,” said Trotchie.

Story continues below advertisement

Jade Creelman is the harm reduction coordinator at Choke Cherry Studios, and said these deaths could be stopped.

“It’s all preventable, and I think that’s what upsets me most. If funding were going into harm reduction, and if there were a safe supply these deaths would not be happening,” said Creelman.

The province said they’ve invested $470 million into mental health and addictions services for  2022-23, but organizations like Prairie Harm Reduction have said they’ve been denied provincial funding for the third year in a row, have had to work limited hours, and had to fight to keep the lights on.

Elizabeth Plishka is the director of support services for Prairie Harm Reduction, and echoed the sentiment that more help was needed.

“More funding. More support for people who are transient, who do use substances,” said Plishka.

Read more:

‘We are literally seeing people die before our eyes’: Toxic drugs continue to take toll on Okanagan

She listed things like housing supports, support for safe consumption sites, more wrap-around services, and more help for healthcare as things that needed to be focused on.

Daniel Hern was an addict for 23 years, but got clean five and a half years ago. He started a podcast called Hard Knox Talks to advocate for change and to give a voice from the perspective of someone who has used drugs.

Story continues below advertisement

Hern said we needed to do more than just talk to the government about this crisis.

“Education. More advocacy. We live in a democracy, don’t we? So, instead of just advocating the government, I think the voice towards the general public needs to be amplified so that we can bring education to people who think differently than we do,” said Hern.

An event also took place at the mâmawêyatitân centre in Regina, and event organizer Ronnie Nordal said education was made available for anyone who wanted it.


Event held in Regina for International Overdose Awareness Day.


Global News/ Derek Putz

“We can each take naloxone training, carry naloxone kits. Training is available today, naloxone kits are here for the taking. Each one of us has the ability to save a life,” said Nordal.

Medavie Health Services West noted at the beginning of August that over the past two years, they’ve seen an increased potency in illicit drugs, and have had to increase the amount of Narcan given to patients while they were being transported to the hospital.

Story continues below advertisement

Carissa Issac’s mother died from an overdose back in 2020, and she said events like the ones held in Regina and Saskatoon are important.

“My mom had written in her diary, ‘I just want my daughters to be proud of me again,’ and she never got that opportunity to get better because it took her. Events like this I feel are very important because it allows for reality to kind of be seen,” said Isaac.

— with files from Montana Getty

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Posted on

Regina Hungarian Club’s 100th Anniversary Celebrations – GlobalNews Events

The Regina Hungarian Cultural and Social Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. To commemorate this landmark, we are hosting a series of events on the September long weekend. We would appreciate your help in promoting these events, especially the Dinner and Social on Saturday, September 3rd.

The events are as follows:Friday, September 2, 11am Opening Event: Commemorative Flag Raising

City Hall Courtyard

Flag raising will be followed by cake and coffee

Friday, September 2, 6pm Pub Crawl and Karaoke Evening

The evening starts off at the Club. Karaoke starts at 7:30 in our beverage room, which includes Hungarian and popular English songs.

Pub Crawl bus leaves at 8:00 travelling to participating local pubs and bars. Or stay at the club and enjoy the Karaoke and visiting with our other anniversary guests.

Saturday, September 3, 6pm Dinner and Anniversary Celebration

In the Balaton Ballroom, we will be hosting a traditional Hungarian supper that will be followed by a commemorative program.

Sunday, September 4, 11:30am Closing Event – Lunch Buffet and Rider Game Tail Gate BBQ

Our Sunday Lunch Buffet will be served in the dining room from 11:30 am to 2 pm. As well, we will have a Tailgate Party in the Balaton Ballroom for those who are looking for something a bit lighter to eat. A great meal to help you cheer on the Riders!

Tickets are available by calling the club at 306.522.8182, visiting the club at 1925 McAra St, or by email reginahungarians100@gmail.com .

Posted on

“Tango, to the Pointe” at the Regina Fringe Festival – GlobalNews Events

“Tango, to the Pointe” at the Regina Fringe Festival - GlobalNews Events

PointeTango Presents: “Tango, to the Pointe” PointeTango heats up the stage with tango…on Pointe! What happens when ballet meets tango? Don’t miss this unique performance that will keep you on your toes. Award-winning dance company, PointeTango, returns to the stage with a spectacular new show where ballet and tango coalesce. With powerful lifts and fiery footwork, audiences will be mesmerized by PointeTango’s sultry duo as they pirouette, leap and bourrée across the stage with the passion of Argentine tango…on Pointe! “It’s flirty. It’s funny. It’s excellent.” “Smoking hot” “Wow. Just wow.” -Rachel Levine (Montreal Rampage) “This piece rises like a phoenix out of the ashes of ballet and the rubble of tango.”  -Shuman Zhang (Montreal Rampage) Where: SaskExpress Theatre, 2272 Pasqua St, Regina, SK S4T 4M4, Canada When: 6 July 5pm / 7 July 6:30pm / 8 July 5pm / 9 July 7pm / 10 July 2:30pm -show run time: 55 minutes

Posted on

Winter conditions in Regina push back outdoor sporting event start dates – Regina | Globalnews.ca

Winter conditions in Regina push back outdoor sporting event start dates - Regina | Globalnews.ca

Little athletes eager to start playing spring sports will have to wait a little longer this year. While the beginning of the baseball and soccer seasons is around the corner, continued wintry weather has forced start dates to be pushed back.

The City of Regina confirmed in an email statement that outdoor field bookings usually begin May 1, but with the recent weather, the City’s fields have not fully dried out leaving them susceptible to damage if used.

Read more:

Southeastern Sask. to be hit with another major spring snow storm

“The City continues to monitor field conditions and will advise user groups when outdoor play can begin,” the statement reads. “The status of athletic fields is updated daily starting May 1 on Regina.ca.”

Sporting organizations had to break the news of yet another season stall to their teams.

Story continues below advertisement

Gerry Krismer from Kiwanis Little League said due to COVID-19, they had to cancel the 2020 season and in 2021, they had a shortened season.

“This year, we were planning on having a full season with our usual start date the first of May,” said Krismer. “Due to the recent weather, we have had to push our start date to May 7 and we fully expect we will be up and running on that date and get a full season of baseball in for 2022.”

Read more:

North Regina Little League making baseball accessible with $40,000 Blue Jays grant

Savanna Matthies, director of North Regina Little League, said they always like to start the season before May 1. The announcement of delayed start times for outdoor sports brought disappointment, especially for little athletes who have been eager to play ball.

“The kids are disappointed. They just want to be outside and play,” said Matthies. “Teams are ready for practice and people are using indoor facilities (to practice).”

Athletes and sporting organizations are advised to check the City of Regina’s website to know when exactly the outdoor facilities are deemed ready for use.


Click to play video: 'Regina cleaning up after spring snowstorm dumps snow on the Queen City'







Regina cleaning up after spring snowstorm dumps snow on the Queen City


Regina cleaning up after spring snowstorm dumps snow on the Queen City – Apr 15, 2022

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Posted on

Regina overdose events decrease in February

Close sticky video

Regina’s chief of police says a number of factors can influence overdose statistics for a given month.

Article content

In Regina, a collectively held breath may be the initial response to a set of statistics showing a drop in overdose events in February.

Article content

Whether a deadly wave has crested and begun to recede, or the decline is simply an anomaly in the midst of a crisis is yet to be seen.

Presented during the Board of Police Commissioners’ meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, the stat package indicates that for the month of February, police documented 99 drug overdose events, down from 141 in January.

In February, police recorded eight apparent overdose deaths, each one a tragedy, but the figure represents just over a third of the 23 deaths recorded in December of 2021 — a grim bookend for a year wherein a record 160 apparent overdose deaths in the city were recorded.

Regina Police Service Chief Evan Bray said there could be a lot of factors that contributed to the decline in numbers.

“Some of it could be actions that are happening in the community through harm reduction,” Bray told commissioners.

“It could be availability of drugs in the community, or even sometimes just the toxicity of the drugs that are here, and the effects that they’re having on people that are consuming them.”

He went on to say that in 2021 “there was a bit of a rollercoaster effect” in terms of the fluctuation in overdose statistics, with some months seeing much higher numbers than others.

Indeed, recorded apparent overdose deaths per month ranged from six to 23 throughout 2021, which saw an average of 13.3.

The current average for 2022 is nine.

“We know that we’ve lost more people, probably, to overdoses than we did to COVID, here in the city,” Regina Mayor Sandra Masters told the media following the meeting.

Article content

But she too was left to hypothesize somewhat about the cause for the partial reprieve in overdose events.

She said she’s aware that the number of people accessing a safe consumption site have increased “significantly,” and she pointed to a no drug use policy within shelters, especially during a February cold snap, as having potentially contributed.

But she was cautious about the decrease, saying statistics will need to be continuously monitored to understand the effectiveness of outreach and programming.

Harm reduction advocates have voiced concerns that if measures they deem to be successful don’t produce positive, tangible statistics within a given timeframe, finding funding can be difficult.

When this was put to her, Masters maintained the importance of data.

“There’s nothing wrong with drawing correlations,” she said.

But she feels tackling the issue may take time and tenacity.

“I think it’s important to look across the country at best practices and what’s working where, and being courageous enough to kind of actually lead in terms of funding some of that.”

bharder@postmedia.com

The news seems to be flying at us faster all the time. From COVID-19 updates to politics and crime and everything in between, it can be hard to keep up. With that in mind, the Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox to help make sure you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.

Posted on

2022 SARM Convention and Trade Show kicks off Tuesday with in-person events | Globalnews.ca

2022 SARM Convention and Trade Show kicks off Tuesday with in-person events  | Globalnews.ca

After having to go virtual in 2021, the annual three-day Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) Convention and Trade Show is back to being an in-person event and that alone has both organizers and delegates alike feeling excited.

“We were fortunate that we still had good virtual connectivity — that’s something we’ve been working on in rural Saskatchewan, better internet, so it’s really important to our councils, but it great to be back,” said Ray Orb, SARM president.

The convention and trade show draws roughly 2,000 delegates and guests from across the province and provides SARM members the opportunity to gather “to vote on and debate resolutions, discuss current issues, and participate in dialogue sessions with provincial and federal government officials,” according to the association.

This year’s convention and trade show will be held from March 15-17, at the Queensbury Convention Centre at Evraz Place. Masks, proof of COVID-19 vaccinations, or negative COVID tests are not required.

Story continues below advertisement

Read more:

SARM: Crime Watch seeks more volunteers to reduce crime in rural municipalities

One of the most notable discussions of the day was a ‘fireside chat’ between with Russ Mirasty, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan and a SARM member.

“When I look at Saskatchewan today, (compared to) 10, 20, 30 years ago, I’d say we’re on the right path,” Mirasty said.

“We hear more dialogue, there’s more acceptance, even with the land acknowledgements, you know those first being spoken of at different events,” he said when speaking about ongoing reconciliation efforts in the province.

Mirasty adds one of the best things about Saskatchewan is the diversity of not just the people here, but the land and work the province has to offer in terms of its different industries.

He also took time to thank the rural delegation for their hard work.

Read more:

Testing phase underway to see how new land access app works in rural Sask.

Another noteworthy presentation from the event introduced attendees to SaskLander, a recently released app designed to help landowners with trespassing issues.

“It’s a new online service with the vision to make land access management faster, more accessible and more accountable,” said Sauvelm McClean, SaskLander co-founder.

Story continues below advertisement

SaskLander allows users to post the land they own on the app and then deny or give permission to those asking for access, whether that’s for recreational purposes or hunting.

The new app is intended to support changes made this year to The Trespass to Property Act, which requires members of the public to get permission from rural property owners before entering their land, provincial government officials said.

SARM and app founders are working on expanding the technology across rural areas in the province and it’s currently free to use.

SaskLander was developed through the provincial government’s Innovation Challenge program, where the local technology sector is engaged to identify and develop solutions for everyday challenges.

Day two of the event on Wednesday will be another busy one, with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and his cabinet in attendance for a ‘bear pit’ session.

The session gives rural municipality heads a chance to air their grievances and concerns in regards to what can be done to help improve rural life.

— with files from Global News’ Thomas Piller

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Posted on

Regina kicks off women’s history month with multiple events

Regina kicks off women’s history month with multiple events


The month of March is woman’s history month and there were no shortage of events celebrating women in Regina.


The University of Regina Students Union held a rally at the legislative building for woman’s rights Saturday.


”We got some posters made and we did a little march around the legislative grounds,” said Maya Rivera, a second year education student at the university. “Again just to raise awareness towards women’s inequality and different issues that are important in Regina and worldwide.”


The group aimed to bring light to the many issues that surround women’s equality.


“I feel like today especially our message was really just to show about intersectionality and just tried to raise awareness of the issues of domestic violence and missing and murdered indigenous women girls and two spirit people,” said Rivera.


Elsewhere in Regina the “What Women Want” trade show opened its doors to vendors and residents after a two year hiatus. Michelle Strawford is the owner of the event.


“There’s over 200 entrepreneurs here today,” said Strawford. “It’s your chance to get to meet them and support the local economy and celebrate life, there are so many smiles here.”


Strawford echoes the importance of celebrating women.


“It’s so important to celebrate and raise women up, women entrepreneurs but women all together and if you look around we have women with their daughters, their sisters, their friends, their moms,” said Strawford.


Local businesses like the Ultimate Deck Shop understand the importance of supporting women.


“I think it’s really important to have, you know, some representation in our community of local businesses that are started by women supported by other women,” said Wade Laurent, Vice President and COO of the Ultimate Deck Shop.


Strawford adds that the pandemic has shown people how important it is to support local businesses.


“I think people today realize the importance of supporting local than more than they have in the past and it’s better than ever in our community,” said Strawford. “So we’re here to thank our entrepreneurs but especially to thank the community for supporting them.


The What Woman Want trade show will be making its way to Saskatoon on May 13.

Posted on

City of Regina bracing for another major snow event

City of Regina bracing for another major snow event


The City of Regina has 50 pieces of snow clearing equipment prepared to roll out during a storm expected at the end of this week.


Tyler Bien, the manager of roadways seasonal operations for the city, said crews will first focus on keeping major roads drivable by applying ice control and removing snow.


“That cycle continues throughout the storm throughout its completion. Once the storm is complete, we will enter into a systematic plow if we receive more than five centimetres of snow,” Bien said. “That’s when we systematically plow the city streets, categories one to four, until completion.”


CTV Meteorologist Bradlyn Oakes said 10-20 centimetres of snow could move into the city between Thursday and Friday.


“If we get to that top end, we could see more than our average amount of March snowfall just in this one system. Typically in March we see 18.8 centimetres of snow,” Oakes said.


So far this winter, Bien said crews have had to deal with more snow than average. He said in a normal year the city receives about 60 centimetres of snow. This year there’s been about 70 centimetres so far.


“We’ve experienced more wind events also,” he said. “So not only accumulations, but the snow blowing into the city on the perimeters or around any open areas.”


This means the city has paid more for clearing efforts. Bien said so far this winter, the city has spent $8.1 million.


“[In] previous years we haven’t spent as much, granted we have received double or triple the amount of snow than we have in the last couple of years,” Bien said.


Although it might be a headache for some people shovelling, members of the agriculture industry are welcoming the added precipitation.


The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) said farmers are “cautiously optimistic” about what the next few months might look like.


“The snow accumulation we have this winter, particularly in the east side of the province, is lending a lot of optimism in the farming industry that going into spring seeding we’ll have adequate moisture,” Bill Prybylski, the vice president of APAS, said.


Prybylski said conditions have been abnormally dry over the last few springs due to lack of winter precipitation. He said subsoil moisture has been dwindling as a result.


While snow is a good start, he said rainfall will be crucial throughout the warmer months.


“It’s going to depend what happens between now and seeding time,” he said. “We’re going to need some good, timely rains throughout the summer to continue that growth.”