COUNCILLOR LOBBYING PM ABOUT CRYSTAL METH

A Langley Township councillor who works with at-risk high school
students has appealed directly to Prime Minister Paul Martin to help
stem the scourge of crystal meth.

Steve Ferguson, a special education instructor with the Delta school
district, challenged Martin at the end of the PM's speech to more than
1,500 delegates at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention
in Vancouver on Friday.

Martin's speech focused on the 2010 Olympics, gasoline taxes, new
federal-provincial infrastructure programs and other initiatives
relevant to municipalities. When Martin had finished, Ferguson, the
first to ask a question from the floor, told the PM that the problem
of crystal meth is big and troubling, and needs federal support.

"Young people are having their lives taken away by a very serious drug
that has no borders. Every municipality in this country can be
affected by this terrible drug, Mr. Prime Minister, and we need your
help," Ferguson told Martin.

Martin, according to Ferguson, replied that he was aware of concerns
regarding the drug and that he had instructed Health Minister Ujjal
Dosanjh to work with the provincial ministries of health to get the
necessary treatment and support in place to help communities combat
the health and social repercussions of the drug.

Ferguson said later that he will monitor how the federal government
acts, and will hold Martin's feet to the fire to ensure that he keeps
his word. Crystal meth "is a very cheap drug," he said. "You can get a
small hit for $2. It's cheap, and it's out there and it's easy to
get." If government fails to act "we are going to fall further and
further into the abyss of this drug," Ferguson added.