The topic: Need for legislation, national limit and roadside testing devices in face of national marijuana legalization

What’s new: Ministers from Newfoundland and Labrador addressed the need for improved road-side policing mechanisms in light of the pending national legalization of recreational marijuana, according to provincial briefing notes from the Department of Service Newfoundland.

Why it’s important: The provincial representatives agree that the legalization of marijuana will increase risk to public safety and road safety. This means an appropriate amount of time and new tools and regulations will be necessary to make changes and ensure the safety of its residents.

RCMP and Newfoundland Constabulary Officers currently only have Standard Field Sobriety Test and Drug Recognition Experts as their means of detecting and addressing inebriated driving, according to the document. Both of these methods were established in the 1970s and have since been only slightly changed.

Standard Field Sobriety Tests include exercises such as the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (where the subject visually follows the officer’s finger from left to right), the walk-and-turn test and the one-leg stand test, according to the RCMP website.

Drug Recognition Experts (DREs) are trained to detect inebriation in subjects through various tests in addition to the Standard Field Sobriety Test methods, according to the RCMP. These include the use of a breathalyzer (only appropriate for alcohol level detection), what the person looks like, what the person says and ultimately the opinion of the DRE. Some mildly invasive tests are recommended, such as a darkroom examination of pupil size, blood pressure, temperature and pulse reading, however these are now rarely used.

According to the Newfoundland Ministers, these testing methods are not sufficient for cannabis detection and there is a resulting need for the recognition and implementation of a legal limit as well as investment in research and development for a reliable tool for testing drug impairment by the side of the road.

In addition to new testing devices, there is a need for amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada, which currently has alcohol and cannabis under the same umbrella term “impaired driving”. Newfoundland recognizes the need for discrepancy between the two, as well as the cascading implications this will have for the police and public.

The document addresses the need for different policing tools and techniques for alcohol and cannabis impaired driving, while drawing parallels between the dangers of impaired driving.

It states that both alcohol and cannabis contribute to poorer lane tracking, greater variability in steering, an increased need for adjustments and slower reaction times. Divided attention and decision making abilities are also outlined as being negatively impacted by both substances.

In addition to increase police training, the provincial departments intend to adjust driver education programs and counselling programs to incorporate material that covers cannabis and its related risks and regulations.

What the government says: Paula Walsh, Newfoundland’s Assistant Deputy Minister for Public Safety and Enforcement declined to comment on new roadside education programs, but says she is not sure what kind of roadside testing device to expect. “In order to be able to determine a certain level of alcohol impairment, there’s a method of being able to use a breathalyzer to determine whether the individual is over the legal limit. It would be helpful to have a similar method for marijuana,” Walsh says.

The province has requested six to twelve months to make changes to provincial legislation to support anticipated amendments to the Criminal Code and to train more police officers to detect cannabis intoxication in drivers.

What others say: According to a study released by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Marijuana is primarily detected according to THC levels, which can be measured through blood, urine and oral fluid samples.

All three of these would be more invasive than any other road side sobriety test currently implemented in the country, however the oral fluid detection method would be the least invasive of the three and most similar to the existing breathalyzer which tests for blood-alcohol levels. The oral-fluid testing device involves the insertion of a device into the mouth which collects saliva. The saliva is then tested for THC presence and levels. Canadian police are currently testing these devices across the country.

What’s next: The Liberal Government recently announced that legislation will be released this month and national legalization of recreational marijuana will be in effect by July 2018. Newfoundland’s input was directed towards the federal Marijuana Task Force that has been in effect and collecting data since December of last year. The new marijuana legislation will stem primarily from the findings of this task force. Newfoundland ministers hope this will include guidelines for roadside safety regulations and accurate intoxication testing devices.

Vanier has long been recognized as a rough area by Ottawa locals. Having a concentration of social agencies, low-incoming housing, crime and reports of drug-use, it also ranked number one for by-law complaints concerning discarded needles in 2016.

“The highest area of need is certainly Ward 12,” says Craig Calder, Program Manager for Ottawa Public Health. Formerly an independent, francophone community, Vanier became part of Ottawa in 2001. Now decreasingly francophone, the area is a hot-spot for those living in poorer conditions than the rest of the city. This, in turn feeds its statistical ranking as having the highest population of injection-drug users in the city, according to the 2016 Problematic Substance Use Report from Ottawa Public Health.

In response to this need, out of the 23 wards that make up the capital city, Vanier also has the highest concentration of Needle Drop Boxes, with 10 locations throughout the area, most of which are located along the thorough-way Montreal Road. Although the Vanier ward stretches reasonably far from north to south, the social agencies and many of the community housing projects are concentrated along this main road.

Craig Calder, Program Manager for Ottawa Public Health and previous employee of Ottawa Bylaw, says the Needle Drop Boxes are in locations that were mutually agreed upon by the city and property owners, and that they are placed with a balance of public need and public safety in mind. Not only must the program define the hot-spots and areas of need, they must acquire permission from the property owners and those living in the area to ensure public safety.

Calder also explained that not a single social housing project had agreed to be the location of a Needle Drop Box until last year. “There has been a recent shift in Ottawa Community Housing,” says Calder. This shift gave way to a collaborative agreement between Ottawa Public Health and Ottawa Community Housing that oversaw the installment of five Needle Drop Boxes on Community Housing properties in 2016, due to the high need in these communities, and a speculated change of heart according to Calder.

Despite the new collaboration, the location of these disposal boxes are arguably not being properly disclosed to the people who would make the most use of them. They are not advertised anywhere except on the city’s website, according to Calder. Given the social housing communities have the best access to the population in need, they would be the most effective starting point for getting the word out. Since the collaboration is still so new, future plans are still in the works.

“We don’t like to speak about the Needle Boxes in isolation,” says Calder. In addition to the boxes, are the Needle Hunters. They are another force on the streets attempting to pick up the paraphernalia. They do what Calder calls, “proactive sweeps, seven days a week.” Made up of community volunteers, the Needle Hunters spend allotted shifts throughout the week, head down, scanning for the needles in the city haystack.

In 2015 the needle hunting team retrieved over 17,000 discarded needles, primarily from the Vanier area according to the City of Ottawa’s website. This is another indication of the degree of injection-drug use in the area and the need for proper disposal of these hazardous items.

The Hunters and Boxes are followed-up by city By-Law and Public Works who also spend time scouring for carelessly discarded, hazardous waste, such as needles.

As Calder outlines, the city project concerning discarded needles is many-fold, though advertisement to those discarding needles in the first place may be an area worth investing in.

Nalcor’s comeback financial statement uses uncommon and potentially questionable reporting methods, according to Ottawa accountant John Wright

A provincial energy corporation in Newfoundland and Labrador appears to be making a comeback after losing $19 million and their entire board of directors in the spring of 2015.

The board of directors was replenished quickly and the company pursued their controversial undertakings at Muskrat Falls despite protests. Although Muskrat Falls is still a work in progress, Nalcor’s financial statement indicates much of their profit has come from investments in new projects, along with lower operating costs and higher oil production.

The third quarter financial statement indicates that during the first three months of 2016 the company made $38.7 million more than they did during the same period in 2015. This quick turn-around was accounted for in both financial charts and subsequent explanatory paragraphs in the report.

According to the report, one of the primary factors contributing to the company’s financial resurrection is a reduction in operating costs. The outline in the statement says the increase to $80.9 million in operating cost revenue over the first nine months of 2016 compared to $20.3 million for the same period in 2015 is due to “lower salary and benefits expenses, professional fees and system equipment maintenance.”

These figures are represented with a superscript number one next to them, indicating more information in a footnote. The note says the numbers are recorded using uncommon accounting techniques, known as non-generally accepted accounting principles.

These methods are cause for raised eyebrows according to John Wright, senior accountant at Vaive and Associates Firm in Ottawa. Wright says these methods of financial reporting are uncommon for a reason. “If someone came to me with a non-GAAP statement, we would have to look at it very closely to find out why they used them and what it means before we made any conclusions,” Wright says.

Although they can be used for tax evasion purposes, says Wright, it generally creates more work for the company in the long run since they have to produce two financial reports. This makes it an uncommon and undesirable practice.

Nalcor officials decline to comment on the matter.

Overall, Wright cautions “don’t trust them.”

The other factors contributing to the company’s increased revenue are all recorded using common practice. Oil production for Nalcor’s third quarter brought in almost $1.5 trillion compared to the previous year’s $299 billion. This increase is due primarily to the company’s ability to purchase oil at a lower price per barrel during 2016, coupled with increased production during the year. These two aspects allowed the company to produce more for less, and to soak in the financial benefits of such.

The statement also says the company recovered lost revenue through higher customer rates for services. They outline this practice as an ‘entitlement’ in the statement.

Finally, the increase in revenue for 2016 is also attributed to the company’s decision to increase investments in hydro projects. Nalcor has a number of sister companies across the east coast of Canada including Emera which recently announced the initiation of the Atlantic Link Transmission Project – a 350-mile submarine that will deliver energy to New England. New projects such as this provide the company initial income through deal-making and the promise of additional income with the completion of the project.

In a November 2016 press release, Nalcor’s CEO Stan Marshall said “Nalcor’s financial position is very sound… We are focused on getting back on track and completing as much work as possible before the onset of winter.”

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