FLAMES DROP OPENER TO CANUCKS
LONG ODDS
PAGE B1
PAGE C3
Betting firm Ladbrokes gives Margaret Atwood a 50-1 shot at landing today’s Nobel Prize in literature.
Red Deer Advocate THURSDAY, OCT. 8, 2015
www.reddeeradvocate.com
Your trusted local news authority
Dairy industry seeks clarity BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF The devil is in the details, but for now Alberta dairy farmers are glad to have Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations wrapped up. And a package worth more than $4 billion of compensation and programs from the federal government doesn’t hurt either. Tom Kootstra, chairman of Alberta Milk and a dairy farmer near Ponoka, said the dairy industry is experiencing a sense of relief that a decision has fi-
TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP nally been made. Representatives of 12 countries reached a trade agreement on Monday. The countries represent about 40 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product In the agreement, about 3.25 per cent of Canada’s dairy market will be opened up to imports. But the details of how that market access will look is still unclear. “What makes up the 3.25 per cent is unclear and we’re working on under-
standing that,” said Kootstra. “It needs to be defined for us. Will it be butter, will it displace milk in the store, does it mean it will go into cheese topping on pizza or the processing industry? We don’t know.” But, Kootstra does suggest the opening up of 3.25 per cent of the country’s dairy industry will impact revenue for Canadian producers. Gerry Ritz, Lloydminster-Battlefords Conservative candidate and federal agriculture minister before
the election call, said the agreement does protect the three pillars of supply management, which includes price, production and import controls. “We kept our promise, we said we would keep them whole and we’ve done exactly that,” said Ritz. “It’s a combination of limiting the amount of products coming in and transitionatory money to maintain their strong bottom line. As well as investing on the production side so they can take advantage of the export opportunities that go along with this.”
Please see TPP on Page A2
JUVENILE DIABETES RIDE
FENTANYL
Naloxone kits saving lives BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF In the past three months take-home Naloxone kits have saved the lives of 19 people in Red Deer who overdosed on opiates. Since July 7, Central Alberta AIDS Network Society (CAANS) has distributed 76 kits and 19 of them, or 25 per cent, have been used. Each kit contains two doses of the medication NalJENNIFER oxone to temporarily reverse VANDERSCHAEGHE the symptoms of fentanyl and other opioid poisonings. “That’s 19 people who are around and have another chance to be healthier,” said Jennifer Vanderschaeghe, CAANS executive director on Wednesday. Initially she expected to give out about 100 kits during the one-year pilot program funded by Alberta Health developed in response to the rise in fentanyl overdoses. Having already distributed 76 kits means there are a lot of people worried about opiate overdose, she said. Naloxone, which is injected intramuscularly, keeps people breathing until paramedics arrive. It’s possible for a person to lapse into an overdose again once Naloxone wears off so medical attention is required. She said interest in the kits has spread through word of mouth and by seeing them in action. “We’re having people come in that we’ve never met before which is a nice way to engage them in services and talk to them about other things we might be able to help them with.” She said CAANS staff has not heard from anyone that the kits have encouraged people to increase their drug use. “In fact what we’re hearing is ‘I had to use the kit. I had to do rescue breathing. I had to call 911. It was really stressful. This is not okay. I don’t want to do this again. I want to reduce. This is crazy and dangerous,’ so overall people are becoming a bit more engaged in managing their risk,” Vanderschaeghe said. Out of the 19 times kits were used, 911 was called in all but two of the overdoses.
Please see NALOXONE on Page A2
WEATHER Mainly sunny. High 18. Low 4.
FORECAST ON A2
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Barb Cross pedals hard as teammates (from left) Wendy Beattie, Sydney Dobroski, Paige Beingessner-Kerr and Ellie Rochon cheer her on during the Ride for Diabetes Research at Bower Place on Wednesday. The Royal Bank employees from the Gaetz and Piper branch in Red Deer were joined by 12 other corporate teams including a total of 185 participants in the bike-a-thon in the shopping centre. This is the fifth annual stationary bike fundraiser in Red Deer for Juvenile Diabetes and Type 1 diabetes research. This year the Red Deer ride is hoping to raise $55,000 for the cause.
Health care dominates debate at election forum hosted by library BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF Three candidates vying for votes in the newly carved Red Deer-Mountain View riding fielded mostly health-care related questions in a forum hosted by the Red Deer Public Library on Wednesday. Attendees wanted to know the candidates’ take on a national pharmacare program and how they would address the senior and persons with disabilities housing crisis. New Democratic Party candidate Paul Harris, Liberal candidate Chandra Kastern, and Libertarian Party candidate James Walper presented their cases in the hope of being the voter’s choice on Oct. 19. The Red Deer-Mountain View riding runs from Red Deer south of Ross Street to Carstairs, west to Sundre (but not Rocky Mountain House) and east to Delburne and Elnora. It includes portions of Mountain View and Red Deer counties.
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Business . . . . . . . .C5-C6 Canada . . . . . . . . A6-A7 Classified . . . . . . D1-D2 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . D3 Entertainment . . . . . . C3 Sports . . . . . . . . . B1-B5
RED DEER-MOUNTAIN VIEW Missing from the forum were candidates Earl Dreeshen for the Conservatives, Scott Milne, for the Pirate Party and Simon Olney for the Green Party. The three were unable to attend because of prior engagements. Once again it was Canada’s changing demographic and the repercussions that dominated the forum. Today there are more seniors than children in the country. All three candidates were on different sides of the fence when it came to introducing a national pharmacare program. Kastern said the Liberals have committed to bring the provinces and territories together to begin negotiations on a new Health Care Accord and discuss improving pharmaceutical care in the provinces and the funding required from the federal government. Walper said the Libertarian Party would approach the issue of afford-
able drugs in a different way. He said the party would like to free up patent laws. The party believes in a true free market that would bring costs down. “When it comes to health care in general, we are very much wanting to allow the municipalities to have more power over the federal,” said Walper. “We are very much bottom up than top down.” The NDP are very much in favour of putting together a national program, said Harris. He said perhaps it is time to extend the health-care system and revisit some of the things that are falling through the cracks. “I think we need a national framework that looks at our whole medical system and we need to do that in collaboration with both the provinces and the municipalities,” said Harris.
Please see FORUM on Page A2
Running with Rhyno Look for Friday’s Running with Rhyno where Crystal Rhyno tackles Bill’s Trail Run and chats to runners about the man.
PLEASE RECYCLE