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Fentanyl numbers startling IAN JACQUES
C o n t r i b u t i n g Wr i t e r
PHOTO BY GORD GOBLE
Ian Paton (centre) chats with supporters as he waits for the results of the Delta South Liberal nomination vote Wednesday evening at the Delta Town & Country Inn in Ladner.
Paton gets Liberal nod
Civic councillor tops former police chief Jim Cessford for party nomination SANDOR GYARMATI
s g y a r m a t i @ d e l t a - o p t i m i s t .c o m
Ian Paton will be the Liberal candidate in Delta South. The civic councillor beat out former police chief Jim Cessford at a candidate selection meeting at the Delta Town & Country Inn Wednesday evening.
It was an overflow crowd of members, many newly signed up, who arrived to hear brief speeches by the two vying for the nomination before casting ballots. More than 600 voted as party members were given several hours to cast ballots, many sticking around for the result announced about 10 p.m.
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“The nomination meeting is over, but we’ve got a very big job ahead of us now,” said Paton in his victory speech. “We’ve got a team of people out there that really love (current two-term MLA) Vicki Huntington and we have got to get out there. It’s a great thing that we’ve built this membership, between Jim
and his people and our people. We’ve built this membership in the last four or five months and we’ve got to keep it going.” Paton also slammed Huntington in his earlier speech, accusing the independent MLA of being disconnected with municipal council. PATON: see Page 3
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The numbers are staggering and tell a troubling tale of a drug crisis that law enforcement and health officials are struggling to get a handle on. According to Fraser Health, as of July 31, there have been 433 apparent illicit overdose deaths in B.C., many of which are linked to fentanyl. Those numbers are up by a whopping 74 per cent provincewide from the same period last year. “That’s an astonishing two deaths per day,” said Dr. Arlene King with Fraser Health. “This is not an insignificant public health problem.” King said of the 433 overdose deaths, 155 occurred in the Fraser Health region, with at least two deaths in Delta. She said there have been 77 overdoses in Delta with a suspected 66 per cent fentanyl-related. King said there is no quick-fix to the issue. “This is a real complex problem. We have all kinds of users from occasional users, like youth who experiment with drugs, then we have individuals who have dependencies on illicit drugs, so it’s a real complex answer,” she said. “But that being said, we know it’s important that we work with youth to be aware that no illicit drug is safe. Unless you get medication from your pharmacist, no illicit drug is safe.” POLICE: see Page 4
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