Marshall Smith
On October 1, Guy Felicella published an op-ed in the Calgary Herald responding to a piece written by Marshall Smith that favoured expansion of police power to address public drug use. On October 6, a defamation notice from Smith to Felicella prompted the Herald to quietly remove the story.
Safe supply
Justice Catherine Murray closed the trial with remarks that showed sympathy for the accused and noted the confusing behaviour of Health Canada, the Vancouver police and all other political entities during and since the 2023 arrests of Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum.
Calgary Police
Drug Data Decoded has obtained a trove of new documents on the Calgary police chief and deputy resignations. Despite heavy redactions, they reveal a power struggle within the service fuelled by commission messaging.
Alberta model
ROSC Solutions Group, a top recipient of AB recovery contracts, was funded for two reports on operations of Saskatchewan recovery centres. Their outcomes are creating a new beachhead for the privatized, abstinence-focused 'recovery-oriented system of care.'
Alberta model
This story was written the first summer after Drug Data Decoded launched, appearing on the cover of the March 2024 Alberta Views. Since then, its conclusions and predictions have borne out. A look at some of the follow-up work on the Alberta Recovery Model.
Surveillance
The Alberta government confirmed it is ending My Recovery Plan, the app that ostensibly tracked recovery progress & facility wait lists. However, the app is hosted by Amazon, placing users' personal health data at the mercy of the American Cloud Act.
DULF
The question is not whether allowing access to regulated drugs is the right thing to do –– that is now confirmed. The question is whether enough collective will can be mustered to overcome the carceral bureaucracy keeping regulated drugs out of reach. DULF can do that –– with your help.
Surveillance
Alberta's Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction is quietly terminating its contract with a personal data-harvesting app and replacing it with a publicly-owned 'bed availability dashboard.' The move coincides with reported scrutiny of ministry spending by the Auditor General.
forced abstinence
The Alberta government has issued a request for interested parties to participate in the procurement process for two forced abstinence detention facilities, to be located in northwest Calgary and northeast Edmonton – right beside existing carceral institutions.
Calgary Police
Documents show that two years after being caught using Clearview AI facial recognition software, Calgary police signed contracts for AI software that scours photos and videos for individuals. Have police agencies across Canada taken a secret shortcut to facial recognition?
ROSC Solutions Group
As one recovery centre admits that recovery coaches supplied by Bowline Health are now mandatory to access its residential services, it is unclear if the Province will mandate its coaches across the recovery system. Meanwhile, the company's vertical integration expands to emergency rooms.
Calgary Police
Calgary police oversight is in crisis. Police commission failed to investigate alleged deceit by the chief for a year before dropping the files upon his resignation, which media have seemingly given up trying to explain. Meanwhile, emails reveal bias of corporate media toward police narratives.