Down the River
Winging my way over the deep green forest of northern Alberta toward Fort Chipewyan, I’m crammed into a twin- engine Piper PA 31-350 Navajo Chieftain with two pilots and five other passengers. We [...]
The Ponds
EVERY ALBERTAN NOW KNOWS that the tar sands, the world’s largest energy project, drinks an enormous amount of water. Separating tar from sand is a messy, water intensive business: producing just [...]
Western Taxidermy
Deirdre’s mother opened the door when I arrived at the baby celebration. She reminded me of a monkey: short with stringy limbs, close-set eyes, a wide, smiling mouth. Although, unlike a [...]
The Hidden Face of Prosperity
Six years ago, when RCMP constable Scott Hagarty moved to grande Prairie, prostitution was almost invisible in the city of 31,000. Today, grande Prairie’s population is pushing 50,000, plus a [...]
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Reducing the Harm
It's a little after 10 o’clock in the morning and Taylor feels like she’s climbing the walls.
When her name is called and the door to Lethbridge’s supervised drug consumption site buzzes open, Taylor moves quickly on her crutches. She settles into a chair at the second booth from the end ...
Should All Drugs Be Decriminalized?
Hakique Virani says yes.
Twelve-step addiction recovery programs teach that it is irrational to “do the same thing over and over again expecting different results.” This should be a lesson for legislators too. As the 4,000 Canadian families who lost a loved one to an opioid overdose last year know, our ...
Holy Healthcare
Just tell them we don’t have it here.” That’s what the nurse told me in Killam Hospital, an hour east of Camrose. I’d asked what would happen if a woman came into our ER asking for the morning-after pill. The nurse wasn’t being self-righteous, but simply explaining the policy.
As ...