News Release                              For Immediate Release

                                                                                                                         July 27, 2009

Task Force Begins Planning to Address Crystal Methamphetamine Issues

The Grey Bruce Crystal Methamphetamine Task Force held a planning meeting on July 24, 2009 to begin the development of a community response to the problem of the illicit production, sale and use of crystal methamphetamine in Grey and Bruce Counties. The Task Force was established in response to the disturbing picture of the impact of crystal meth use in the area, presented in a Report released in March 2009.

“We will take a comprehensive coordinated approach to this challenging problem. To do that we will involve people with expertise in the key areas requiring action: enforcement and community safety, prevention and education, and treatment” said Sandy Stockman, Executive Director of the Grey Bruce Community Health Corporation and Task Force Co-Chair. Working groups are being established for each of these key areas.

The twenty-five participants at the meeting included Task Force members and others who have agreed to contribute their expertise on the working groups. They included representatives from Bruce and Grey County Councils, local police, the courts, ambulance services, the schools, the Health Unit, addiction treatment agencies, mental health and social services.

Terry Sanderson, Director of Social Services for Bruce County and Task Force Co-Chair said, “As a result of the discussions, we were able to confirm that the actions recommended in the Report are what we need to work on. We determined who else we need to involve in the working groups and what specific issues those groups need to start working on right away.” Meetings are planned for August to begin that work.

Provincial and federal funding will be required to implement some of the action. Task Force members were encouraged to learn that a proposal for a federal Drug Strategy grant to reduce illicit drug use among youth is being developed by the Health Unit and a proposal for a crime prevention project is being developed by a local service club. British Columbia has been tackling the problems with crystal meth for several years. In September, the Task Force and Working Group members will meet with the Executive Director of the Crystal Meth Society of British Columbia to learn from the successes achieved in that province.

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For more information:

Sandy Stockman,

Task Force Co-Chair,

Executive Director, Grey Bruce Community Health Corporation

519-371-4120

sstockman@gbchc.org

or

Terry Sanderson,

Task Force Co-Chair,

Director of Social Services, Bruce County

519-881-0431

tsanderson@brucecounty.on.ca