Wednesday, March 03, 2021
CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
‘Vancouver Model’ money laundering connects B.C., Las Vegas and Macau casinos, inquiry hearsB.C.’s inquiry into money laundering has heard stunning evidence about connections between B.C. government casinos, casinos in Macau and Las Vegas, and international drug traffickers and loan sharks moving money between Vancouver, Latin America and Asia via Chinese underground banks.
© Screengrab / Global News A photo of a baccarat table in one of Paul King Jin’s alleged illegal casinos in Richmond, B.C., as presented in evidence during B.C.'s public inquiry into money laundering on Monday, March 1, 2021. Cullen Commission counsel Brock Martland, left, and RCMP Cpl. Melvin Chizawsky look on during the virtual testimony.
The Cullen Commission heard new details on Monday about the RCMP’s so-called E-Pirate investigation into suspected drug-money laundering in BC Lottery Corporation casinos involving an organized crime suspect named Paul King Jin.
Video: Cullen Commission testimony on ‘conflicting directions’ from then-minister
Criminal charges against Jin and Silver International, a Richmond currency exchange business, were stayed in November 2018, RCMP Cpl. Melvin Chizawsky told the inquiry. But a related RCMP investigation called E-Nationalize and B.C. government civil forfeiture actions against Jin’s network and its so-called "Vancouver Model" money laundering continue, he said.
The E-Pirate probe alleged that Silver was operating as a drug trafficking organization by laundering cash for drug dealers in China, Latin America and Canada, an affidavit filed by Chizawsky said.
Jin and Silver would arrange for Chinese nationals to deposit funds to Chinese banks, and pay them Canadian cash which they used to gamble in B.C., he said.
Jin and Silver would also loan out cash in Richmond, which the RCMP alleges was deposited by drug traffickers who then directed Silver to transfer deposited funds to China or other countries. These cash loans were often secured against real estate owned in Vancouver by Chinese high rollers, the inquiry heard.
Read more: BC Lottery Corp. CEO ignored federal anti-money laundering direction on bags of cash: inquiry
According to Chizawsky, the E-Pirate probe found "cellphone data was reviewed that indicated (Silver) had access to ‘cash pools’ in numerous other locations, aside from China, including Mexico City and Bogota in Colombia.”
Up to 300 investigators were working on E-Pirate at "the height" of the investigation, Chizawsky said. And records and videos seized from Silver in 2015 indicated the unregistered currency exchange took in $220 million in cash that year and paid out $217 million in locations worldwide.
Most of Silver's cash deposits were bundles of cash that appeared to be delivered in methods consistent with drug trafficking, he said.
The largest single deposit, according to RCMP evidence, was a $1.4-million cash delivery from a man targeted in a Vancouver police drug trafficking investigation.
One of Silver's customers in 2015 was Richard Chiu, who was convicted in 2002 in Massachusetts for conspiracy to distribute and possess heroin, according to Chizawsky. Chiu, who was also investigated in homicide and drug trafficking probes in Vancouver, Chizawsky said, was killed in Colombia in June 2019.
Chizawsky said that when Jin was arrested and interviewed in February 2016, Jin admitted that he had gambling credit accounts with Las Vegas and Macau casinos, and that he used these accounts to facilitate his own gambling business with Chinese nationals, whom he recruited in Macau casinos, so that he could lend them cash at Richmond's River Rock Casino and Vancouver's Edgewater Casino, and offer them underground casino betting in Richmond.
Video: Shocking new Cullen Commission testimony about gang activity in B.C. casinos
“You know I have got, like, a credit from the casino, right?” Jin bragged to Chizawsky, according to an interview transcript read in the inquiry. “My name is money. I call … (Jin laughs) they give money, right? I collect million, two million. They deal right away.”
Chizawsky testified that RCMP surveillance of Jin and Silver International started in mid-2015.
The RCMP followed Jin as he picked up large bags of cash from Silver in downtown Richmond, broke the cash into smaller parcels at his parents’ Richmond home, then delivered it to his own illegal casino, also in Richmond.
The investigation also found some of these Chinese nationals were using River Rock Casino chips at Jin’s illegal casino mansion, located on a 27-acre parcel of rural Richmond land. Records show that in 2019, this $10-million address on No. 4 Road was the city's second most valuable property.
Read more: Top BC Lottery Corp. executives disagreed on province’s suspicious-cash directive, inquiry hears
Jin also had baccarat tables set up at his Richmond condo, where the RCMP seized $4.3 million in cash in a gun safe in the master bedroom, the inquiry heard.
While Jin admitted running a casino at the No. 4 Road mansion, he denied any criminality.
“The small casino -- I’m innocent too," Jin said, according to an RCMP interview transcript read at the inquiry. "I lose my money too.”
The RCMP also connected Jin's alleged network to massage and restaurant businesses in Toronto, and to a Richmond massage parlour called Water Cube that had directors in Richmond, Markham, Ont., and various Chinese cities including Beijing.
Chizawsky said that Jin, who has been convicted for aggravated assault, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation, denied extorting any of his cash loan clients, but did call himself a "loan shark."
“You know myself sometime in danger," Jin said, while explaining why he was seen travelling in vehicles registered to other people. "(You) know me, I’m a loan shark and I have money, you know, right? … I move around, you know.”
However, Jin's lawyer, Greg DelBigio, questioned the accuracy of Chizawsky's affidavit and testimony.
Chizawsky acknowledged that in at least one case, he attributed information incorrectly.
Jin has repeatedly denied all allegations, and none of the RCMP’s or B.C. government's allegations related to the casino investigations have been proven in court.
The inquiry continues.
The Cullen Commission heard new details on Monday about the RCMP’s so-called E-Pirate investigation into suspected drug-money laundering in BC Lottery Corporation casinos involving an organized crime suspect named Paul King Jin.
Video: Cullen Commission testimony on ‘conflicting directions’ from then-minister
Criminal charges against Jin and Silver International, a Richmond currency exchange business, were stayed in November 2018, RCMP Cpl. Melvin Chizawsky told the inquiry. But a related RCMP investigation called E-Nationalize and B.C. government civil forfeiture actions against Jin’s network and its so-called "Vancouver Model" money laundering continue, he said.
The E-Pirate probe alleged that Silver was operating as a drug trafficking organization by laundering cash for drug dealers in China, Latin America and Canada, an affidavit filed by Chizawsky said.
Jin and Silver would arrange for Chinese nationals to deposit funds to Chinese banks, and pay them Canadian cash which they used to gamble in B.C., he said.
Jin and Silver would also loan out cash in Richmond, which the RCMP alleges was deposited by drug traffickers who then directed Silver to transfer deposited funds to China or other countries. These cash loans were often secured against real estate owned in Vancouver by Chinese high rollers, the inquiry heard.
Read more: BC Lottery Corp. CEO ignored federal anti-money laundering direction on bags of cash: inquiry
According to Chizawsky, the E-Pirate probe found "cellphone data was reviewed that indicated (Silver) had access to ‘cash pools’ in numerous other locations, aside from China, including Mexico City and Bogota in Colombia.”
Up to 300 investigators were working on E-Pirate at "the height" of the investigation, Chizawsky said. And records and videos seized from Silver in 2015 indicated the unregistered currency exchange took in $220 million in cash that year and paid out $217 million in locations worldwide.
Most of Silver's cash deposits were bundles of cash that appeared to be delivered in methods consistent with drug trafficking, he said.
The largest single deposit, according to RCMP evidence, was a $1.4-million cash delivery from a man targeted in a Vancouver police drug trafficking investigation.
One of Silver's customers in 2015 was Richard Chiu, who was convicted in 2002 in Massachusetts for conspiracy to distribute and possess heroin, according to Chizawsky. Chiu, who was also investigated in homicide and drug trafficking probes in Vancouver, Chizawsky said, was killed in Colombia in June 2019.
Chizawsky said that when Jin was arrested and interviewed in February 2016, Jin admitted that he had gambling credit accounts with Las Vegas and Macau casinos, and that he used these accounts to facilitate his own gambling business with Chinese nationals, whom he recruited in Macau casinos, so that he could lend them cash at Richmond's River Rock Casino and Vancouver's Edgewater Casino, and offer them underground casino betting in Richmond.
Video: Shocking new Cullen Commission testimony about gang activity in B.C. casinos
“You know I have got, like, a credit from the casino, right?” Jin bragged to Chizawsky, according to an interview transcript read in the inquiry. “My name is money. I call … (Jin laughs) they give money, right? I collect million, two million. They deal right away.”
Chizawsky testified that RCMP surveillance of Jin and Silver International started in mid-2015.
The RCMP followed Jin as he picked up large bags of cash from Silver in downtown Richmond, broke the cash into smaller parcels at his parents’ Richmond home, then delivered it to his own illegal casino, also in Richmond.
The investigation also found some of these Chinese nationals were using River Rock Casino chips at Jin’s illegal casino mansion, located on a 27-acre parcel of rural Richmond land. Records show that in 2019, this $10-million address on No. 4 Road was the city's second most valuable property.
Read more: Top BC Lottery Corp. executives disagreed on province’s suspicious-cash directive, inquiry hears
Jin also had baccarat tables set up at his Richmond condo, where the RCMP seized $4.3 million in cash in a gun safe in the master bedroom, the inquiry heard.
While Jin admitted running a casino at the No. 4 Road mansion, he denied any criminality.
“The small casino -- I’m innocent too," Jin said, according to an RCMP interview transcript read at the inquiry. "I lose my money too.”
The RCMP also connected Jin's alleged network to massage and restaurant businesses in Toronto, and to a Richmond massage parlour called Water Cube that had directors in Richmond, Markham, Ont., and various Chinese cities including Beijing.
Chizawsky said that Jin, who has been convicted for aggravated assault, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation, denied extorting any of his cash loan clients, but did call himself a "loan shark."
“You know myself sometime in danger," Jin said, while explaining why he was seen travelling in vehicles registered to other people. "(You) know me, I’m a loan shark and I have money, you know, right? … I move around, you know.”
However, Jin's lawyer, Greg DelBigio, questioned the accuracy of Chizawsky's affidavit and testimony.
Chizawsky acknowledged that in at least one case, he attributed information incorrectly.
Jin has repeatedly denied all allegations, and none of the RCMP’s or B.C. government's allegations related to the casino investigations have been proven in court.
The inquiry continues.
CTHUHLU STUDIES
Cuttlefish show self-control, pass 'marshmallow test'
Yasemin Saplakoglu
Cuttlefish can pass the "marshmallow test" — the famous psychological test of self-control.
Cuttlefish show self-control, pass 'marshmallow test'
Yasemin Saplakoglu
Cuttlefish can pass the "marshmallow test" — the famous psychological test of self-control.
© Provided by Live Science A cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) in the water.
In this case, the cephalopods were willing to forgo meals when they knew that waiting meant they would be rewarded with more delicious treats, according to a new study. That makes them the first known invertebrates to show the ability to exert self-control.
The common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) — relatives of squids and octopuses — are sneaky hunters and impressive camouflagers, with the ability to quickly disappear into any environment. They are also scarily smart; studies previously showed that they have a good memory, can learn the value of different types of prey and can use past experience to help them predict where to find food.
But prior to this study, it was unclear whether these creatures could also delay gratification.
Related: Cuttlefish cuties: photos of color-changing cephalopods
"Self-control is thought to be the cornerstone of intelligence, as it is an important prerequisite for complex decision-making and planning for the future," said lead author Alex Schnell, a research associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. Not all animals share this trait, and it was previously thought that the ones that do, such as great apes, corvids and parrots, have long and social lives.
To see if a cephalopod should join the ranks, Schnell and her team adapted the famous "marshmallow test" so that it appealed to cuttlefish. In the 1960s, Walter Mischel led an experiment at Stanford University to test how much self-control children have when presented with a preferred treat such as a marshmallow (or other treats such as cookies and pretzels) and two options: either eat the one marshmallow now or wait for 15 to 20 minutes and get rewarded with two marshmallows.
In the current study, Schnell's team swapped out marshmallows for seafood munchies, after figuring out what six individual 9-month-old (not yet fully adult) cuttlefish preferred to eat. It turned out, all of them preferred live grass shrimp the most, followed by king prawn, with the Asian shore crab coming in last of the three.
They then set up a two-chamber apparatus with transparent sliding drawers. Behind one drawer, they placed a preferred meal (such as live grass shrimp) and behind the other, they placed a less preferred meal (such as Asian shore crab). The doors had symbols on them that indicated whether it would open with a delay (a triangle) or open immediately (a circle), which the cuttlefish learned to recognize.
The drawer with the less preferred meal always opened to the cuttlefish immediately, but the other drawer opened after a delay. In the control condition, the door with the preferred snack didn't open at all (a square). When the cuttlefish approached one chamber, the researchers immediately removed the snack in the other.
A bit of a mystery
The cuttlefish indeed chose to delay gratification to score a more delicious meal if they knew the door would open after a delay; they were able to delay grabbing their snack for anywhere between 50 to 130 seconds. During this time, they generally sat at the bottom of the tank looking at the two rewards, Schnell told Live Science in an email.
Sometimes, they would even turn away from the immediate (less preferred but currently available) option "as if to distract themselves from the temptation of the immediate reward," she said. This same distraction technique was previously observed in humans, chimpanzees, jays, parrots and dogs, she said.
"Why cuttlefish evolved the ability to exert self-control is a bit of a mystery," Schnell said. "This finding is an extreme example of convergent evolution because cuttlefish have significantly different evolutionary histories from the more commonly studied apes, corvids and parrots, and yet they share the same cognitive feature." (Convergent evolution occurs when different species evolve similar traits independently of one another.)
"Cuttlefish can tolerate delays to obtain the food of higher quality comparable to that of some large-brained vertebrates," the authors wrote in the study. Those include great apes, parrots and corvids. But the benefits of self-control for such social and long-lived animals "are obvious," Schnell said.
If these animals resist temptation now, they may have better outcomes in the future and live a longer life. For example, these animals may wait for others to eat to strengthen social bonds or forego hunting and foraging to give themselves time to craft tools in order to optimize hunting and foraging in the future, she said.
The benefits for cuttlefish are less obvious. "Cuttlefish are not long-lived, not social and do not manufacture or build tools," Schnell said.
The researchers hypothesize that the cuttlefish evolved self-control as a byproduct of an unrelated trait: camouflage. To avoid being detected by predators, cuttlefish need to spend long periods of their day in hiding, taking only brief breaks to forage. "Thus, perhaps self-control evolved to optimize their foraging behavior and reduce their predator exposure," she added.
The researchers also tested whether the degree of self-control in cuttlefish was linked to higher intelligence, or in this case, the ability of the cuttlefish to learn. To do this, they trained the cuttlefish to associate the reward with various stimuli; cuttlefish that exerted more self-control (waited longer to get their food) had a better ability to learn, according to the findings.
To link self-control to intelligence researchers need to study how the cuttlefish perform in other cognitive tests such as spatial memory and object permanence, which means an understanding that an object continues to exist regardless of whether you can see it, Schnell said.
The findings were published Tuesday (March 2) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Originally published on Live Science.
In this case, the cephalopods were willing to forgo meals when they knew that waiting meant they would be rewarded with more delicious treats, according to a new study. That makes them the first known invertebrates to show the ability to exert self-control.
The common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) — relatives of squids and octopuses — are sneaky hunters and impressive camouflagers, with the ability to quickly disappear into any environment. They are also scarily smart; studies previously showed that they have a good memory, can learn the value of different types of prey and can use past experience to help them predict where to find food.
But prior to this study, it was unclear whether these creatures could also delay gratification.
Related: Cuttlefish cuties: photos of color-changing cephalopods
"Self-control is thought to be the cornerstone of intelligence, as it is an important prerequisite for complex decision-making and planning for the future," said lead author Alex Schnell, a research associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. Not all animals share this trait, and it was previously thought that the ones that do, such as great apes, corvids and parrots, have long and social lives.
To see if a cephalopod should join the ranks, Schnell and her team adapted the famous "marshmallow test" so that it appealed to cuttlefish. In the 1960s, Walter Mischel led an experiment at Stanford University to test how much self-control children have when presented with a preferred treat such as a marshmallow (or other treats such as cookies and pretzels) and two options: either eat the one marshmallow now or wait for 15 to 20 minutes and get rewarded with two marshmallows.
In the current study, Schnell's team swapped out marshmallows for seafood munchies, after figuring out what six individual 9-month-old (not yet fully adult) cuttlefish preferred to eat. It turned out, all of them preferred live grass shrimp the most, followed by king prawn, with the Asian shore crab coming in last of the three.
They then set up a two-chamber apparatus with transparent sliding drawers. Behind one drawer, they placed a preferred meal (such as live grass shrimp) and behind the other, they placed a less preferred meal (such as Asian shore crab). The doors had symbols on them that indicated whether it would open with a delay (a triangle) or open immediately (a circle), which the cuttlefish learned to recognize.
The drawer with the less preferred meal always opened to the cuttlefish immediately, but the other drawer opened after a delay. In the control condition, the door with the preferred snack didn't open at all (a square). When the cuttlefish approached one chamber, the researchers immediately removed the snack in the other.
A bit of a mystery
The cuttlefish indeed chose to delay gratification to score a more delicious meal if they knew the door would open after a delay; they were able to delay grabbing their snack for anywhere between 50 to 130 seconds. During this time, they generally sat at the bottom of the tank looking at the two rewards, Schnell told Live Science in an email.
Sometimes, they would even turn away from the immediate (less preferred but currently available) option "as if to distract themselves from the temptation of the immediate reward," she said. This same distraction technique was previously observed in humans, chimpanzees, jays, parrots and dogs, she said.
"Why cuttlefish evolved the ability to exert self-control is a bit of a mystery," Schnell said. "This finding is an extreme example of convergent evolution because cuttlefish have significantly different evolutionary histories from the more commonly studied apes, corvids and parrots, and yet they share the same cognitive feature." (Convergent evolution occurs when different species evolve similar traits independently of one another.)
"Cuttlefish can tolerate delays to obtain the food of higher quality comparable to that of some large-brained vertebrates," the authors wrote in the study. Those include great apes, parrots and corvids. But the benefits of self-control for such social and long-lived animals "are obvious," Schnell said.
If these animals resist temptation now, they may have better outcomes in the future and live a longer life. For example, these animals may wait for others to eat to strengthen social bonds or forego hunting and foraging to give themselves time to craft tools in order to optimize hunting and foraging in the future, she said.
The benefits for cuttlefish are less obvious. "Cuttlefish are not long-lived, not social and do not manufacture or build tools," Schnell said.
The researchers hypothesize that the cuttlefish evolved self-control as a byproduct of an unrelated trait: camouflage. To avoid being detected by predators, cuttlefish need to spend long periods of their day in hiding, taking only brief breaks to forage. "Thus, perhaps self-control evolved to optimize their foraging behavior and reduce their predator exposure," she added.
The researchers also tested whether the degree of self-control in cuttlefish was linked to higher intelligence, or in this case, the ability of the cuttlefish to learn. To do this, they trained the cuttlefish to associate the reward with various stimuli; cuttlefish that exerted more self-control (waited longer to get their food) had a better ability to learn, according to the findings.
To link self-control to intelligence researchers need to study how the cuttlefish perform in other cognitive tests such as spatial memory and object permanence, which means an understanding that an object continues to exist regardless of whether you can see it, Schnell said.
The findings were published Tuesday (March 2) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Originally published on Live Science.
Rare Australian bee rediscovered after nearly a century
Harry Baker 3/2/2021
Related: Gorgeous images of Australian 'rainbow' bees will blow your mind
"I never really expected to find any," Dorey told Live Science. "But we have caught many times more bees now than we did back then."
His research on the bees suggests that deforestation and forest fires could be putting them at risk of extinction, for good this time.
Searching for bees
The rediscovery of P. lactiferus was a lucky accident for Dorey.
"Knowing that P. lactiferus hadn't been found for so long meant that I was keeping an eye open for it as I sampled my way up the coast," Dorey said. "Once I managed to find the first specimen I had a place to start and the opportunity to look for more."
After the discovery Dorey spent five months surveying 245 sites across Queensland and New South Wales in search for more of the masked bees. Dorey focused his efforts on certain flowering plants that were similar to those where he found the first individual. The sampling involved a combination of both watching flowers to see if the bees visited them and "general sweeps" with a butterfly net above the flowers.
The survey revealed three geographically isolated populations of the masked bees across Australia's eastern coast. Each population lives in patches of tropical and subtropical rainforest with a specific vegetation type. Dorey thinks that the bees are particularly dependent on firewheel trees (Stenocarpus sinuatus) and Illawarra flame trees (Brachychiton acerifolius).
Under threat
The survey has identified more individuals of P. lactiferus than ever before. But due to poor historic records there is no way of knowing if the masked bee populations have increased or decreased over time, according to Dorey.
Although the bees' may live in isolated populations because they strongly prefer certain habitats, Dorey also suspects that deforestation and increasingly severe and numerous wildfires could also be playing a role in their isolation.
"Where these bees have been found, that rainforest type has undergone habitat destruction and fragmentation," Dorey said. "This means that there is less of this habitat available," and that makes it "harder for [the bees] to move between what's left."
Unfortunately, rising temperatures caused by climate change will only worsen wildfires, and deforestation is only continuing, which means "these potential threats are likely to get worse," Dorey said.
"Smaller, and lower-quality fragments might make it more likely that P. lactiferus will go extinct in each fragment, and less likely that it will be able to recolonize from another," Dorey said.
Therefore, protecting these habitat fragments is key to their survival.
However, protecting species is impossible without tracking the bees' numbers as well as changes in their habitats.
"Without it we have no idea what's going on in ecosystems," Dorey said. "If we did not go and look, then species declines would certainly go unnoticed and the protection of species would be impossible."
The study was published online Feb. 25 in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.
Originally published on Live Science.
Harry Baker 3/2/2021
© Provided by Live Science The recently rediscovered species of Australian masked bee
An extremely rare species of bee that hasn't been seen for nearly a century and was thought to be extinct has been rediscovered by a lone researcher in Australia.
This rare "masked" bee, known as Pharohylaeus lactiferus, is native to Australia and is the only species in the genus Pharohylaeus. It is similar in size to the invasive European honeybee (Apis mellifera). Only six individuals have been previously identified in Australia and the last one was reported in 1923.
But the bee was recently rediscovered by James Dorey, a doctoral candidate at Flinders University, while completing fieldwork in the state of Queensland. After the chance rediscovery, Dorey conducted a larger survey of Queensland and New South Wales dedicated to searching for P. lactiferus.
An extremely rare species of bee that hasn't been seen for nearly a century and was thought to be extinct has been rediscovered by a lone researcher in Australia.
This rare "masked" bee, known as Pharohylaeus lactiferus, is native to Australia and is the only species in the genus Pharohylaeus. It is similar in size to the invasive European honeybee (Apis mellifera). Only six individuals have been previously identified in Australia and the last one was reported in 1923.
But the bee was recently rediscovered by James Dorey, a doctoral candidate at Flinders University, while completing fieldwork in the state of Queensland. After the chance rediscovery, Dorey conducted a larger survey of Queensland and New South Wales dedicated to searching for P. lactiferus.
Related: Gorgeous images of Australian 'rainbow' bees will blow your mind
"I never really expected to find any," Dorey told Live Science. "But we have caught many times more bees now than we did back then."
His research on the bees suggests that deforestation and forest fires could be putting them at risk of extinction, for good this time.
Searching for bees
The rediscovery of P. lactiferus was a lucky accident for Dorey.
"Knowing that P. lactiferus hadn't been found for so long meant that I was keeping an eye open for it as I sampled my way up the coast," Dorey said. "Once I managed to find the first specimen I had a place to start and the opportunity to look for more."
After the discovery Dorey spent five months surveying 245 sites across Queensland and New South Wales in search for more of the masked bees. Dorey focused his efforts on certain flowering plants that were similar to those where he found the first individual. The sampling involved a combination of both watching flowers to see if the bees visited them and "general sweeps" with a butterfly net above the flowers.
The survey revealed three geographically isolated populations of the masked bees across Australia's eastern coast. Each population lives in patches of tropical and subtropical rainforest with a specific vegetation type. Dorey thinks that the bees are particularly dependent on firewheel trees (Stenocarpus sinuatus) and Illawarra flame trees (Brachychiton acerifolius).
Under threat
The survey has identified more individuals of P. lactiferus than ever before. But due to poor historic records there is no way of knowing if the masked bee populations have increased or decreased over time, according to Dorey.
Although the bees' may live in isolated populations because they strongly prefer certain habitats, Dorey also suspects that deforestation and increasingly severe and numerous wildfires could also be playing a role in their isolation.
"Where these bees have been found, that rainforest type has undergone habitat destruction and fragmentation," Dorey said. "This means that there is less of this habitat available," and that makes it "harder for [the bees] to move between what's left."
Unfortunately, rising temperatures caused by climate change will only worsen wildfires, and deforestation is only continuing, which means "these potential threats are likely to get worse," Dorey said.
"Smaller, and lower-quality fragments might make it more likely that P. lactiferus will go extinct in each fragment, and less likely that it will be able to recolonize from another," Dorey said.
Therefore, protecting these habitat fragments is key to their survival.
However, protecting species is impossible without tracking the bees' numbers as well as changes in their habitats.
"Without it we have no idea what's going on in ecosystems," Dorey said. "If we did not go and look, then species declines would certainly go unnoticed and the protection of species would be impossible."
The study was published online Feb. 25 in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.
Originally published on Live Science.
Shocking photo shows top Irish trainer sitting on dead horse.
National Post Staff
Warning, this post includes disturbing images
He says it's not what it seems
National Post Staff
Warning, this post includes disturbing images
.
© Provided by National Post Trainer Gordon Elliott confirmed that a photo showing him sitting on a dead horse is authentic.
The Irish horse racing community is in turmoil after a photo surfaced of a high-profile trainer sitting on the back of a dead horse, smiling, talking on the phone and giving what appears to be the peace sign, despite his attempts to explain the disturbing image.
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) announced on Tuesday that it will convene on Friday “to hear evidence and consider an investigation” into Gordon Elliott. The trainer was set to have 104 entries at the Cheltenham Festival in England later this month, where he has been the top trainer twice, but the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced that it will use its own rules to ban him from racing horses pending consideration of the outcome of the IHRB’s investigation.
“I will be punished, I fully understand that,” Elliott told the Racing Post on Monday.
“It is indefensible. Whether alive or dead, the horse was entitled to dignity. A moment of madness that I am going to have to spend the rest of my life paying for and that my staff are suffering for.”
The photo in question first surfaced on social media on Saturday, Elliott said, when he confirmed its authenticity in a statement posted to Twitter on Sunday.
“I apologise profoundly for any offence that this photo has caused,” Elliott wrote. “The photo in question was taken some time ago and occurred after a horse had died of an apparent heart attack on the gallops.”
Elliott said that while the photo looks “callous and staged” there is an innocent explanation for the unfortunate image, which has been confirmed to show Morgan, a seven-year-old horse that died of a heart aneurysm in 2019.
“At what was a sad time, which it is when any horse under my care passes away, my initial reaction was to get the body removed from where it was positioned. I was standing over the horse waiting to help with the removal of the body, in the course of which, to my memory I received a call and, without thinking, I sat down to take it. Hearing a shout from one of my team, I gestured to wait until I was finished,” Elliott wrote.
“Such background information may seem trivial at this time and will not allay the concerns of many people both within and outside the world of horse racing. However, I feel it is important to provide people with some context surrounding this photo.”
Irish Minister of State for Sport Jack Chambers called into doubt Elliott’s explanation.
“Everything that has been said so far doesn’t explain what everybody saw,” Chambers told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
He said that he was “shocked, appalled and horrified” by the image, calling it a “complete and profound error of judgment” on Elliot’s part and “really disturbing from an animal welfare perspective.”
The minister said Elliott, who could have his licence to train suspended or revoked by the IHRB, must be “held fully accountable for his actions.”
“Everything should be on the table,” Chambers said. “Ireland has to set a high bar when it comes to animal standards.”
The Irish horse racing community is in turmoil after a photo surfaced of a high-profile trainer sitting on the back of a dead horse, smiling, talking on the phone and giving what appears to be the peace sign, despite his attempts to explain the disturbing image.
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) announced on Tuesday that it will convene on Friday “to hear evidence and consider an investigation” into Gordon Elliott. The trainer was set to have 104 entries at the Cheltenham Festival in England later this month, where he has been the top trainer twice, but the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced that it will use its own rules to ban him from racing horses pending consideration of the outcome of the IHRB’s investigation.
“I will be punished, I fully understand that,” Elliott told the Racing Post on Monday.
“It is indefensible. Whether alive or dead, the horse was entitled to dignity. A moment of madness that I am going to have to spend the rest of my life paying for and that my staff are suffering for.”
The photo in question first surfaced on social media on Saturday, Elliott said, when he confirmed its authenticity in a statement posted to Twitter on Sunday.
“I apologise profoundly for any offence that this photo has caused,” Elliott wrote. “The photo in question was taken some time ago and occurred after a horse had died of an apparent heart attack on the gallops.”
Elliott said that while the photo looks “callous and staged” there is an innocent explanation for the unfortunate image, which has been confirmed to show Morgan, a seven-year-old horse that died of a heart aneurysm in 2019.
“At what was a sad time, which it is when any horse under my care passes away, my initial reaction was to get the body removed from where it was positioned. I was standing over the horse waiting to help with the removal of the body, in the course of which, to my memory I received a call and, without thinking, I sat down to take it. Hearing a shout from one of my team, I gestured to wait until I was finished,” Elliott wrote.
“Such background information may seem trivial at this time and will not allay the concerns of many people both within and outside the world of horse racing. However, I feel it is important to provide people with some context surrounding this photo.”
Irish Minister of State for Sport Jack Chambers called into doubt Elliott’s explanation.
“Everything that has been said so far doesn’t explain what everybody saw,” Chambers told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
He said that he was “shocked, appalled and horrified” by the image, calling it a “complete and profound error of judgment” on Elliot’s part and “really disturbing from an animal welfare perspective.”
The minister said Elliott, who could have his licence to train suspended or revoked by the IHRB, must be “held fully accountable for his actions.”
“Everything should be on the table,” Chambers said. “Ireland has to set a high bar when it comes to animal standards.”
© Twitter The horse has been identified as Morgan, a seven-year-old horse that died of a heart aneurysm in 2019
On Monday, the BHA said it was appalled by the image.
“We expect all those in our sport to demonstrate respect for horses,” the BHA said in a statement . “People who work in our industry believe their values – of caring for and respecting our horses – have been deeply undermined by this behaviour. On their behalf, and on behalf of all horse-lovers, we say unequivocally that British horseracing finds this totally unacceptable.”
The BHA said that while it was banning Elliott pending the IHRB investigation, it would allow owners to transfer their horses to a different trainer and enter them in upcoming races.
Elliott, who is based in County Meath, Ireland, which is just north of Dublin, is one of the country’s top trainers. In 2007, the then-29-year-old became the youngest trainer to win a Grand National, in just his second year on the job. His horse Tiger Roll has won twice at the Grand National — an annual National Hunt race held in Liverpool. His horses have also won 32 times at Cheltenham Festival, among other successes.
“It absolutely breaks my heart to read and hear people say that I have no respect for my horses. That couldn’t be further from the truth. My whole life has revolved around horses since I was a child. I know nothing else. Horses are all I have. I came from nothing and built a dream,” Elliott told the Racing Post.
“My heart goes out to all my staff. I know how hard they work. I know that I have not only let them down but that I have let the whole racing industry down too. That is down to my stupidity and I am truly, truly sorry.”
On Monday, the BHA said it was appalled by the image.
“We expect all those in our sport to demonstrate respect for horses,” the BHA said in a statement . “People who work in our industry believe their values – of caring for and respecting our horses – have been deeply undermined by this behaviour. On their behalf, and on behalf of all horse-lovers, we say unequivocally that British horseracing finds this totally unacceptable.”
The BHA said that while it was banning Elliott pending the IHRB investigation, it would allow owners to transfer their horses to a different trainer and enter them in upcoming races.
Elliott, who is based in County Meath, Ireland, which is just north of Dublin, is one of the country’s top trainers. In 2007, the then-29-year-old became the youngest trainer to win a Grand National, in just his second year on the job. His horse Tiger Roll has won twice at the Grand National — an annual National Hunt race held in Liverpool. His horses have also won 32 times at Cheltenham Festival, among other successes.
“It absolutely breaks my heart to read and hear people say that I have no respect for my horses. That couldn’t be further from the truth. My whole life has revolved around horses since I was a child. I know nothing else. Horses are all I have. I came from nothing and built a dream,” Elliott told the Racing Post.
“My heart goes out to all my staff. I know how hard they work. I know that I have not only let them down but that I have let the whole racing industry down too. That is down to my stupidity and I am truly, truly sorry.”
'I am happy': Peruvian woman wins historic battle over right to die
By Marco Aquino and Carlos Valdez
3/3/2021
© Reuters/Sebastian Castaneda FILE PHOTO:
Ana Estrada, a euthanasia advocate who suffers from an incurable condition, lies in bed at her home in Lima
LIMA (Reuters) - Ana Estrada, who is confined to her bed, says she feels "happy and content" about a historic decision by Peruvian officials to allow her an assisted death, a remarkable ruling in this mostly Roman Catholic country where euthanasia is illegal.
The Andean country's government decided not to appeal a court ruling that recognizes her right to die.
"It is an individual case, but I hope it serves as a precedent," Estrada, 44, told Reuters, after the ministries of justice and health decided late on Tuesday to respect a judge's ruling that she has the right to "a dignified death."
"I think it is an achievement not only of mine, not only of my cause, but also an achievement of law and justice in Peru," Estrada said with a muffled and broken voice.
Estrada, a psychologist, has suffered for three decades from polymyositis, a rare incurable disease that progressively attacks her muscles. She breathes with a respirator most of the time.
Estrada started a legal battle about five years ago to be allowed to decide to end her own life "when the time comes."
Euthanasia is disallowed in many countries and many in Peru strongly oppose the practice. Abortion and same-sex marriage are also prohibited in Peru. In Latin America, Colombia allows the procedure under certain conditions.
The court ruling last week provides that state health insurer EsSalud provide "all conditions" needed for Estrada's euthanasia, which must occur within 10 business days from the date that she decides to end her life.
EsSalud said a statement it would comply with the ruling and form medical commissions to develop a protocol for such cases. The court ruling also cleared anyone assisting Estrada in her death from facing charges, although local law still prohibits anyone from helping people to die.
Estrada has written a blog since 2016 called "Ana seeks dignified death." She told Reuters she would decide to end her life when she could no longer write.
"My body is failing, but my mind and my spirit are happy," she said. "I want the last moment of my life to continue like this, in freedom, with peace, tranquility and autonomy. I want to be remembered like that."
(Writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Richard Chang)
LIMA (Reuters) - Ana Estrada, who is confined to her bed, says she feels "happy and content" about a historic decision by Peruvian officials to allow her an assisted death, a remarkable ruling in this mostly Roman Catholic country where euthanasia is illegal.
The Andean country's government decided not to appeal a court ruling that recognizes her right to die.
"It is an individual case, but I hope it serves as a precedent," Estrada, 44, told Reuters, after the ministries of justice and health decided late on Tuesday to respect a judge's ruling that she has the right to "a dignified death."
"I think it is an achievement not only of mine, not only of my cause, but also an achievement of law and justice in Peru," Estrada said with a muffled and broken voice.
Estrada, a psychologist, has suffered for three decades from polymyositis, a rare incurable disease that progressively attacks her muscles. She breathes with a respirator most of the time.
Estrada started a legal battle about five years ago to be allowed to decide to end her own life "when the time comes."
Euthanasia is disallowed in many countries and many in Peru strongly oppose the practice. Abortion and same-sex marriage are also prohibited in Peru. In Latin America, Colombia allows the procedure under certain conditions.
The court ruling last week provides that state health insurer EsSalud provide "all conditions" needed for Estrada's euthanasia, which must occur within 10 business days from the date that she decides to end her life.
EsSalud said a statement it would comply with the ruling and form medical commissions to develop a protocol for such cases. The court ruling also cleared anyone assisting Estrada in her death from facing charges, although local law still prohibits anyone from helping people to die.
Estrada has written a blog since 2016 called "Ana seeks dignified death." She told Reuters she would decide to end her life when she could no longer write.
"My body is failing, but my mind and my spirit are happy," she said. "I want the last moment of my life to continue like this, in freedom, with peace, tranquility and autonomy. I want to be remembered like that."
(Writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Richard Chang)
(WO)MAN HAS THE RIGHT TO DIE WHEN HOW (S)HE WILL
CANADA
Federal wage and rent subsidies extended until June
Ryan Patrick Jones
Federal wage and rent subsidies extended until June
Ryan Patrick Jones
3/3/2021
The federal government will extend into June two pandemic support programs that subsidize wages and rent for businesses as the country continues to struggle with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a press conference in Ottawa today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy will both be maintained at their current levels until June.
"This isn't the time to pull back on support for workers or business owners," said Trudeau. "It's the time to see people through what is hopefully the final stretch of this crisis."
The CEWS subsidizes up to 75 per cent of wages for workers who are kept on their employers' payrolls, while the CERS provides direct payments to qualifying renters covering up to 65 per cent of their rental payments. An additional top-up to the rent subsidy for businesses forced to close due to lockdowns will be maintained as well.
The programs, originally scheduled to expire on March 13, are being extended to June 5. Extending the programs is expected to cost taxpayers an additional $16 billion — $13.9 billion for the wage subsidy and $2.1 billion for the rent subsidy.
"There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we cannot definitively say that we've turned the corner," said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
"That means that public health lockdowns and the supports that sustain them must continue to be available to Canadians where and when they are needed."
Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, said he welcomes the announcement.
"This is good news for small business owners and will help them plan staffing levels," Kelly tweeted.
As of Feb. 21, the federal government had paid out over $66 billion to more than 5 million Canadians through the wage subsidy, according to a government backgrounder. Another $1.6 billion has been paid to 129,000 organizations through the rent subsidy and lockdown support.
The federal government will extend into June two pandemic support programs that subsidize wages and rent for businesses as the country continues to struggle with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a press conference in Ottawa today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy will both be maintained at their current levels until June.
"This isn't the time to pull back on support for workers or business owners," said Trudeau. "It's the time to see people through what is hopefully the final stretch of this crisis."
The CEWS subsidizes up to 75 per cent of wages for workers who are kept on their employers' payrolls, while the CERS provides direct payments to qualifying renters covering up to 65 per cent of their rental payments. An additional top-up to the rent subsidy for businesses forced to close due to lockdowns will be maintained as well.
The programs, originally scheduled to expire on March 13, are being extended to June 5. Extending the programs is expected to cost taxpayers an additional $16 billion — $13.9 billion for the wage subsidy and $2.1 billion for the rent subsidy.
"There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we cannot definitively say that we've turned the corner," said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
"That means that public health lockdowns and the supports that sustain them must continue to be available to Canadians where and when they are needed."
Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, said he welcomes the announcement.
"This is good news for small business owners and will help them plan staffing levels," Kelly tweeted.
As of Feb. 21, the federal government had paid out over $66 billion to more than 5 million Canadians through the wage subsidy, according to a government backgrounder. Another $1.6 billion has been paid to 129,000 organizations through the rent subsidy and lockdown support.
BC
$3.5M in funding for 'vending machines' that dispense safer drugs to prevent ODs
VANCOUVER — The federal government has provided nearly $3.5 million in funding for vending machines that will dispense a medical-grade opioid to drug users in four cities in an effort to prevent overdose deaths
.
© Provided by The Canadian Press
Darren Fisher, parliamentary secretary to Health Minister Patty Hajdu, said two machines are located in Vancouver and one each are in Victoria; London, Ont.; and Dartmouth, N.S.
The machines, called MySafe, are similar to ATMs and allow drug users to get hydromorphone pills, a substitute for heroin, dispensed to them after their palm has been scanned to identify them.
"Safer-supply projects offer people with opioid use disorder a life-saving alternative to the toxic, illegal drug supply, but they are not always convenient and easy to access," Fisher said.
He said MySafe allows participants to access a safer drug without fear, shame and stigma, and without contact with anyone, which is all the more essential during the pandemic.
Overdose deaths spiked to a record level in British Columbia last year as COVID-19 precautions closed the Canada-U.S. border, leading to domestic manufacturing of more potent substances often laced with high concentrations of the opioid fentanyl.
Participants in the MySafe program in Vancouver are assessed by a doctor and a baseline urine sample is collected before they can access hydromorphone through the machines, which are bolted to the floor.
Dr. Mark Tyndall, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist, began the MySafe project in December 2017, with the installation of the first machine next to an overdose prevention site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
The area is home to North America's first supervised injection site as well as Crosstown, the continent's first facility to provide injectable heroin as a therapy for entrenched drug users who have tried multiple methods to quit their habit.
While Crosstown also provides injectable hydromorphone, Tyndall said the program's strict regimen requiring users to attend several times a day and use their drugs under supervision is not ideal for people who fear being stigmatized.
The MySafe program, which now has 20 participants at the initial Vancouver site, allows users to access hydromorphone tablets at their convenience, he said.
"In a very short time, I've seen people's lives change. The ability to get up in the morning and just go and pick up your medications is just revolutionary to many people who have, in many cases, got up in the morning, felt unwell and had to hustle to find their drugs," said Tyndall, a former director of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
However, he said it's been "an uphill battle" trying to persuade "skittish" doctors in the Downtown Eastside to prescribe hydromorphone that would be dispensed through a machine instead of by a pharmacy.
Doctors in Victoria and Dartmouth are more open to using MySafe, and a group in London is already using MySafe, Tyndall said.
"The two machines in Vancouver are going to still be a challenge," he said of reluctance by prescribers in the city where Mayor Kennedy Stewart has implored the federal government to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use due to the high number of overdose deaths.
Tyndall said that at 32 cents for an eight-milligram tablet of hydromorphone, MySafe is a cheap and scalable option for communities after an estimated 20,000 overdose fatalities across Canada in recent years.
Jen Baker, chair of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, said the province already has remote dispensing locations at pharmacy kiosks, and a system like MySafe could be incorporated to provide hydromorphone for those at risk of overdose.
"I could see how those sorts of locations could be adapted in this harm-reduction model to contain medications for those individuals," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 2, 2021.
Camille Bains, The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the federal government was providing nearly $5.6 million in funding.
Darren Fisher, parliamentary secretary to Health Minister Patty Hajdu, said two machines are located in Vancouver and one each are in Victoria; London, Ont.; and Dartmouth, N.S.
The machines, called MySafe, are similar to ATMs and allow drug users to get hydromorphone pills, a substitute for heroin, dispensed to them after their palm has been scanned to identify them.
"Safer-supply projects offer people with opioid use disorder a life-saving alternative to the toxic, illegal drug supply, but they are not always convenient and easy to access," Fisher said.
He said MySafe allows participants to access a safer drug without fear, shame and stigma, and without contact with anyone, which is all the more essential during the pandemic.
Overdose deaths spiked to a record level in British Columbia last year as COVID-19 precautions closed the Canada-U.S. border, leading to domestic manufacturing of more potent substances often laced with high concentrations of the opioid fentanyl.
Participants in the MySafe program in Vancouver are assessed by a doctor and a baseline urine sample is collected before they can access hydromorphone through the machines, which are bolted to the floor.
Dr. Mark Tyndall, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist, began the MySafe project in December 2017, with the installation of the first machine next to an overdose prevention site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
The area is home to North America's first supervised injection site as well as Crosstown, the continent's first facility to provide injectable heroin as a therapy for entrenched drug users who have tried multiple methods to quit their habit.
While Crosstown also provides injectable hydromorphone, Tyndall said the program's strict regimen requiring users to attend several times a day and use their drugs under supervision is not ideal for people who fear being stigmatized.
The MySafe program, which now has 20 participants at the initial Vancouver site, allows users to access hydromorphone tablets at their convenience, he said.
"In a very short time, I've seen people's lives change. The ability to get up in the morning and just go and pick up your medications is just revolutionary to many people who have, in many cases, got up in the morning, felt unwell and had to hustle to find their drugs," said Tyndall, a former director of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
However, he said it's been "an uphill battle" trying to persuade "skittish" doctors in the Downtown Eastside to prescribe hydromorphone that would be dispensed through a machine instead of by a pharmacy.
Doctors in Victoria and Dartmouth are more open to using MySafe, and a group in London is already using MySafe, Tyndall said.
"The two machines in Vancouver are going to still be a challenge," he said of reluctance by prescribers in the city where Mayor Kennedy Stewart has implored the federal government to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use due to the high number of overdose deaths.
Tyndall said that at 32 cents for an eight-milligram tablet of hydromorphone, MySafe is a cheap and scalable option for communities after an estimated 20,000 overdose fatalities across Canada in recent years.
Jen Baker, chair of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, said the province already has remote dispensing locations at pharmacy kiosks, and a system like MySafe could be incorporated to provide hydromorphone for those at risk of overdose.
"I could see how those sorts of locations could be adapted in this harm-reduction model to contain medications for those individuals," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 2, 2021.
Camille Bains, The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the federal government was providing nearly $5.6 million in funding.
N.S. tech firm secures federal funding for safe drug-dispensing machines
Jesse Thomas
Dartmouth-based tech company Dispension Industries and its partner MySafe Society have received $3.5 million in federal funding for its ATM-model safe drug dispensing program that delivers prescription opioids safely and securely to patients receiving treatment for opioid addiction.
© Jesse Thomas
On Tuesday Dartmouth MP Darren Fisher, the parliamentary secretary to Health Minister Patty Hajdu announced the funding for the MySafe Society and its kiosk machines.
The MySafe machines allow patients to access prescription hydromorphone pills by scanning their hands to verify the patient and allow them to access their prescribed drugs from a tamper-proof machine.
"So what the MySafe project does is it gives people a safe prescribed option, so they don't need to rely on the contaminated street supply, which is causing people to overdose and die," said Dispension Industries COO Matthew Michaelis.
Read more: Nova Scotia announces support for overdose prevention sites
The overdose crisis continues to accelerate across Canada and in particular in British Columbia, where overdose death rates continue to hit record levels, but those numbers are also rising in Nova Scotia, where it's estimated 96 people died from drug poisoning between January and November 2019.
"We're in the midst of concurrent crises with the overdose crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic," said Michaelis. "These are having an adverse effect on people, particularly who use drugs, many of whom are homeless and don't have the structural support to allow them to self-isolate or to be safe in these times."
The MySafe project has dispensing machines set up at five locations in four cities across the country, including sites in Vancouver, Victoria, London, Ont., and Dartmouth, N.S.
Dr. Mark Tyndall, who founded the MySafe Society in 2007, says the technology gives patients low-barrier access to safe drugs and prevents overdoses, while also helping change people's lives.
"I've got to know personally, the handful of people who are on the machine, the 20 or so," said Tyndall. "And I think they've all made positive steps forward. For some, it's been great leaps and to the point where they aren't even using drugs anymore."
The MySafe team says the federal funding validates its technology and health-care strategy and proves that it works and at the same time will allow them to expand the project.
"This project has been going since September 2019 and we've successfully distributed 5,000 prescriptions out of our kiosks," said Dispension Industries president and CEO Corey Yantha. "This funding from Health Canada is a nod to innovation and technology and supports a public health crisis, that will allow us to expand the capacity of the company."
Dispension Industries is now in the process of moving from its former office space in the Burnside Industrial Park to a 21,000-square-foot facility in downtown Dartmouth, at the former Harbour View weekend market headquarters at 42 Canal St.
The new space will allow the company to grow and expand its production capacity and create more jobs in the process.
"We're looking to be a global leader in the secure distribution of restricted products built right here in Dartmouth," said Yantha. "Within the next couple of years, we anticipate we'll be employing between 25 and 35 people."
Read more: Halifax-area firm ready to roll out drug-dispensing machines to fight opioid crisis
The company has its sights on expanding the use of its secure kiosk into other areas and sees opportunities in the legal cannabis industry.
"We know that a lot of Canadians are still using the illicit market to get cannabis and we think this is a great technology solution for government distributors to provide legal low-cost access to cannabis in rural communities," said Yantha. "To really provide legal cannabis for all Canadians."
As for the MySafe project, Tyndall believes it's a practical and ethical response to the overdose crisis and safe supply of drugs needs to be part of the strategy.
"We're too far into this to just be dabbling with pilot projects; we really need a national strategy on how to do deal with this," said Tyndall. "I think the technology will allow the potential for rapid scale-up, especially in communities that have very little harm reduction and very little capacity to do this."
Tyndal believes this ATM style for providing safe supply could be a national model for reducing overdoses and help get people off drugs.
On Tuesday Dartmouth MP Darren Fisher, the parliamentary secretary to Health Minister Patty Hajdu announced the funding for the MySafe Society and its kiosk machines.
The MySafe machines allow patients to access prescription hydromorphone pills by scanning their hands to verify the patient and allow them to access their prescribed drugs from a tamper-proof machine.
"So what the MySafe project does is it gives people a safe prescribed option, so they don't need to rely on the contaminated street supply, which is causing people to overdose and die," said Dispension Industries COO Matthew Michaelis.
Read more: Nova Scotia announces support for overdose prevention sites
The overdose crisis continues to accelerate across Canada and in particular in British Columbia, where overdose death rates continue to hit record levels, but those numbers are also rising in Nova Scotia, where it's estimated 96 people died from drug poisoning between January and November 2019.
"We're in the midst of concurrent crises with the overdose crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic," said Michaelis. "These are having an adverse effect on people, particularly who use drugs, many of whom are homeless and don't have the structural support to allow them to self-isolate or to be safe in these times."
The MySafe project has dispensing machines set up at five locations in four cities across the country, including sites in Vancouver, Victoria, London, Ont., and Dartmouth, N.S.
Dr. Mark Tyndall, who founded the MySafe Society in 2007, says the technology gives patients low-barrier access to safe drugs and prevents overdoses, while also helping change people's lives.
"I've got to know personally, the handful of people who are on the machine, the 20 or so," said Tyndall. "And I think they've all made positive steps forward. For some, it's been great leaps and to the point where they aren't even using drugs anymore."
The MySafe team says the federal funding validates its technology and health-care strategy and proves that it works and at the same time will allow them to expand the project.
"This project has been going since September 2019 and we've successfully distributed 5,000 prescriptions out of our kiosks," said Dispension Industries president and CEO Corey Yantha. "This funding from Health Canada is a nod to innovation and technology and supports a public health crisis, that will allow us to expand the capacity of the company."
Dispension Industries is now in the process of moving from its former office space in the Burnside Industrial Park to a 21,000-square-foot facility in downtown Dartmouth, at the former Harbour View weekend market headquarters at 42 Canal St.
The new space will allow the company to grow and expand its production capacity and create more jobs in the process.
"We're looking to be a global leader in the secure distribution of restricted products built right here in Dartmouth," said Yantha. "Within the next couple of years, we anticipate we'll be employing between 25 and 35 people."
Read more: Halifax-area firm ready to roll out drug-dispensing machines to fight opioid crisis
The company has its sights on expanding the use of its secure kiosk into other areas and sees opportunities in the legal cannabis industry.
"We know that a lot of Canadians are still using the illicit market to get cannabis and we think this is a great technology solution for government distributors to provide legal low-cost access to cannabis in rural communities," said Yantha. "To really provide legal cannabis for all Canadians."
As for the MySafe project, Tyndall believes it's a practical and ethical response to the overdose crisis and safe supply of drugs needs to be part of the strategy.
"We're too far into this to just be dabbling with pilot projects; we really need a national strategy on how to do deal with this," said Tyndall. "I think the technology will allow the potential for rapid scale-up, especially in communities that have very little harm reduction and very little capacity to do this."
Tyndal believes this ATM style for providing safe supply could be a national model for reducing overdoses and help get people off drugs.
Iran's only female Olympic medalist, Kimia Alizadeh, to compete under white flag in Tokyo
Story by Reuters
Iranian female Olympic medal winner Kimia Alizadeh has been granted refugee status in Germany and aims to compete in the Olympic Refugee Team under a white flag in Tokyo this summer.
Story by Reuters
Iranian female Olympic medal winner Kimia Alizadeh has been granted refugee status in Germany and aims to compete in the Olympic Refugee Team under a white flag in Tokyo this summer.
© ED JONES/AFP/AFP via Getty Images Kimia Alizadeh (L) competes with Croatia's Ana Zaninovic during their women's taekwondo qualifying bout in the -57kg category as part of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, on August 18, 2016, at the Carioca Arena 3, in Rio de Janeiro.
Alizadeh, who won taekwondo bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics, fled to Germany last year after several offers to compete for the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium and Bulgaria.
"Taekwondo changed my life," Alizadeh told Reuters. "When I got a medal, I was the first athlete in Iran and, after that, all the people knew me and ... that was hard."
The 22-year-old, who now lives in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg, is training with her husband and can compete for a ticket to the Olympics at the European qualifying tournament in Sofia in May.
The young athlete plans to join the Olympic Refugee Team, which will be picked in June from a group of 55 athletes in 12 sports.
Germany's Taekwondo Union said its president had contacted the interior minister over Alizadeh's refugee status last summer, adding that Alizadeh was Germany's third refugee athlete.
"Now, everything is okay. The important thing is that I can have my personal life and my sport life together," Alizadeh said.
Alizadeh, who won taekwondo bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics, fled to Germany last year after several offers to compete for the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium and Bulgaria.
"Taekwondo changed my life," Alizadeh told Reuters. "When I got a medal, I was the first athlete in Iran and, after that, all the people knew me and ... that was hard."
The 22-year-old, who now lives in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg, is training with her husband and can compete for a ticket to the Olympics at the European qualifying tournament in Sofia in May.
The young athlete plans to join the Olympic Refugee Team, which will be picked in June from a group of 55 athletes in 12 sports.
Germany's Taekwondo Union said its president had contacted the interior minister over Alizadeh's refugee status last summer, adding that Alizadeh was Germany's third refugee athlete.
"Now, everything is okay. The important thing is that I can have my personal life and my sport life together," Alizadeh said.
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