Close X
Sunday, March 16, 2025
ADVT 
National

Four British Columbia communities get 26 new addiction treatment beds

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 Jan, 2025 05:25 PM
  • Four British Columbia communities get 26 new addiction treatment beds

British Columbia's minister of health says the province has opened 26 new treatment beds for people with addictions in four communities over the last several months.

Minister Josie Osborne says the beds in Nanaimo, Kelowna, Prince Rupert and Vancouver's Downtown Eastside are part of 248 treatment beds that are being funded through the Canadian Mental Health Association.

The ministry says the 26 new spots, which are available at no cost to patients, will help up to 250 people, and more beds will be open by spring.

The latest additions include six beds at the Karis Support Society in Kelowna that opened for pregnant women and women with children, and another six spots at Island Crisis Care in Nanaimo for women who have completed treatment to get longer-term support.

A dozen beds have opened at the Harbour Light Centre in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, which the government says are for women, including transgender and two-spirited people, and two more beds for Prince Rupert's 333 Recovery Program, which offers Indigenous men culturally focused programs.

Osborne says the expansion is aimed at breaking down barriers in rural communities and for underserved groups, so that no one is left behind. 

"When someone reaches out for help with their substance use, they should receive compassionate and effective care," Osborne says in a news release. "We are expanding services across B.C. so more people have the supports they need to stabilize their lives and begin their healing journey."

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. launches short-term rental registry with annual fees to rein in 'speculators'

B.C. launches short-term rental registry with annual fees to rein in 'speculators'
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says B.C. is launching a registry for short-term rentals to further crack down on "speculators" operating illegally. Kahlon says all short-term rental operators on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo must apply for a registration number to be displayed on all online listings by May 1, and hosts who fail to comply will have their listings taken down from June 1. 

B.C. launches short-term rental registry with annual fees to rein in 'speculators'

Environment minister says Donald Trump pulling out of Paris pact is

Environment minister says Donald Trump pulling out of Paris pact is
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says it's "deplorable" that President Donald Trump is again pulling the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris Accord. He says it's "quite ironic" that President Trump is abandoning the global environmental pact while California is experiencing one of its worst forest fire seasons ever.

Environment minister says Donald Trump pulling out of Paris pact is

Federal immigration department to cut more than 3,300 jobs, unions say

Federal immigration department to cut more than 3,300 jobs, unions say
Two federal public service unions say the Immigration Department is set to cut 3,300 jobs. The Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Canada Employment and Immigration Union say in a joint statement that the department has not said who will be affected by the cuts.

Federal immigration department to cut more than 3,300 jobs, unions say

Man facing murder charges in triple homicide in Lloydminster

Man facing murder charges in triple homicide in Lloydminster
Police were called in September to do a wellness check at a home on the Saskatchewan side of the community. They found the bodies of Brent Peters, 66, and his sons Matthew Peters, 32, and Brennan Peters, 23.

Man facing murder charges in triple homicide in Lloydminster

Grain, crop, container shipments up for Prince Rupert port

Grain, crop, container shipments up for Prince Rupert port
The Port of Prince Rupert says cargo shipments were up at its container terminal for liquefied petroleum gas and crop exports, but volume for last year was down by one per cent from 2023.  The authority says in a statement that 23.1 million tonnes of cargo moved through the port, with metallurgical coal exports falling by 29 per cent and thermal coal down by 22 per cent.

Grain, crop, container shipments up for Prince Rupert port

Gang related shooting in Delta

Gang related shooting in Delta
Police in Delta say one person has been injured in a shooting this morning that investigators suspect to be gang-related. Police say they responded shortly after seven a-m to a report of a shooting at the 81-hundred block of 112-B Street.

Gang related shooting in Delta