BREAKING International students will be allowed to work 24 hours a week starting in September
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says international students will be able to work off-campus for up to 24 hours per week starting in September.
Another harmful substance is spreading within Canada's unregulated street drug supply and, without more aggressive intervention from policymakers, one expert says a growing number of people could be at risk of serious illness, injury or death.
Xylazine is a potent veterinary tranquillizer used in large animals, such as horses, but not approved for use in humans. Known on the street as "tranq dope" or "zombie drug," it is increasingly being used as an additive in opioids due to its ability to prolong their effects. However, it can also cause extended blackouts, and severe abscesses that sometimes lead to amputation.
Hayley Thompson, project manager at Toronto Drug Checking Service, says most people sickened by xylazine are unknowingly exposed via contaminated fentanyl, meaning victims often experience the effects of both drugs at once.
"When people are using it alongside fentanyl, it would create further sedative effects, further central nervous system depressant and vital suppression (effects)," Thompson told CTV's Your Morning on Monday, explaining how the added sedative effect increases risk of dangerous respiratory and cardiac slowing.
Xylazine also acts as a vasoconstrictor – meaning it causes a narrowing of the blood vessels – and can put users at risk of developing severe abscesses. In the U.S., where contamination rates are as high as 90 per cent in some cities, Thompson said this side-effect of the drug has led to limb amputations.
Adding to the danger, xylazine does not respond to naloxone, a fast-acting drug used to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid overdoses.
And xylazine appearance in unregulated drugs is on the rise in Canada.
According to a recent report from Health Canada, xylazine was identified in 1,350 samples of drugs seized across Canada in 2022, out of 2,324 identifications total since record-keeping began in 2015. The largest numbers have come out of Ontario and British Columbia.
Thompson said this trend highlights how important it is to educate the public about how easily the unregulated fentanyl supply can be contaminated with substances users don't expect to encounter.
"Xylazine is just one of over a dozen drugs that we consider noteworthy that we regularly see in the unregulated fentanyl supply," she said.
According to the latest federal government data, there were a total of 3,556 suspected opioid overdose deaths in the first half of 2022. This equals around 20 deaths a day. From January to June of 2022, 90 per cent of all accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths in Canada occurred in B.C., Alberta, or Ontario.
To better protect people who use street drugs, Thompson said harm reduction advocates want to see government explore "bolder policy measures" such as increasing investment in supervised consumption services that would allow people to more easily access a safe supply of opioids.
"We'd like to see more people being able to make informed decisions about their drug use, and also safer supply being more available to people," she said.
"Without safer supply and drug checking, people really don't know what it is they're using, and therefore can't appropriately dose themselves. That's why we're seeing all of these accidental drug poisoning deaths."
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says international students will be able to work off-campus for up to 24 hours per week starting in September.
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
Members of Parliament are questioning why Canadian security officials did not inform them that they had been the target of Beijing-linked hackers, after learning from the FBI that the international parliamentary alliance they are a part of was in the crosshairs of the Chinese cyberattack in 2021.
Norovirus is spreading at a 'higher frequency' than expected in Canada, specifically, in Ontario and Alberta, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
B.C. Premier David Eby has joined other politicians denouncing remarks at a demonstration in Vancouver where protesters chanted “long live Oct. 7,” praising that day's attacks by Hamas on Israel.
Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart, but better research methods have thrown cold water on that.
Tobacco manufacturers have until Tuesday to ensure every king-size cigarette produced for sale in Canada has a health warning printed directly on it.
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2023 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.
Anne Hathaway first shared she lost interest in drinking after a bad hangover in 2018. She’s now five years sober.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.