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THURSDAY E INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS Ly IMPACTING YOUR COMMUNITY $2.00 | CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITY | THEIFP.CA Pastor Steve Boose and wife Kathleen run a Nar-Anon group to help those impacted by addiction. DRUG OVERDOSES ON THE RISE IN HALTON POLICE TARGET TRAFFICKERS CONTRIBUTING TO OVERDOSE CRISIS MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@metroland.com The following is part two in a four-part Halton series on crime in the region. Next week, see part three focusing on frauds and scams in the region. Halton police are sounding Speedy Glass + Truck Accessories + Upholstery + Heavy Equipment Glass ‘Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 the alarm as the number of drug overdoses being reported in Hal- ton Hills and across the region continues to soar. The local department says they attended 50 per cent more ispected drug overdose — or poisoning — calls last year versus 2020, jumping from 241 to 361. This includes opioid and non-opioid overdoses that were both accidental and intentional. There was also a notable in- crease of 37 per centin how many of those calls turned fatal, with police reporting that 52 Halton residents lost their lives to sus- pected drug poisoning in 2021 — a Graham Paine/Metroland the first full calendar year of life in the COVID-19 pandemic. "It's absolutely crisis level —_— capital C on crisis. That's cer- ‘inly not an overstatement," wad Jennifer Hartman, Halto Regional Police Service's S manag: er of corporate c Cie thine you 1 hear orenn See PANDEMIC, page 7 . Cass many WALK-IN & FAMILY CLINIC 905-873-1001 NEW FAMILY DOCTOR ACCEPTING PATIENTS 221 Miller Dr., Georgetown GenesisHealthTeam.com LISAHARTSINK.COM feataoa I] Office: 905.8775211 krausemorris.ca Direct: 416.878.0436 READ THE NEWS AS IT HAPPENS AT THEIFP.CA Metroland Media Group Ltd., 1 Yonge Street, 4th floor, Toronto, ON, MSE 1E6 Visit our showroom eae * your window & door professionals + 11 Mountainview Rd, N. Georgetown, ON L7G 473 905.873.0236 www.buy-wise.ca_ info@buy-wise.ca + awarded readers choice 35 times *