The Trafficking of Fentanyl and Its Impact in Canada

With Canada and the U.S. still in the grips of a decades-old opioid epidemic, the crisis has deepened in recent years with the introduction a fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times more potent than morphine. It is a driving force behind countless overdose deaths per year, and law enforcement agencies and officers face many challenges when it comes to controlling the synthetic. Michael W. Brown is the global director of counter-narcotics interdiction partnerships at Rigaku Analytical Devices. He has a distinguished career spanning more than 30 years as a Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Most recently he was the DEA Headquarters staff coordinator for the Office of Foreign Operations for the Middle East-Europe-Afghanistan-India. He also spent 10 years in Pakistan as a special advisor to the US Embassy on various law enforcement issues.

Naveen Day

Naveen's career in broadcast and production spans close to 30 years. Prior to his move to Alberta, he was Senior Producer for two factual entertainment shows for Shaw and BellMTS, which were produced in his hometown of Winnipeg. He also served as a Producer and Production Supervisor at one of Canada's largest and fastest growing churches, and helped lead a production team of 75 volunteers. Naveen came on board with the team at Bridge City News in 2018 and performs on both sides of the camera lens as Producer, Editor, Production Coordinator, Back-up Anchor, Interview Host, and Video Journalist. In February 2022, Naveen went to Ottawa to provide daily, boots-on-the-ground coverage of the Freedom Convoy - an experience he describes as a monumental moment in Canadian history. Naveen is a two-time Communicator Awards recipient. In 2023, he won the Excellence Award for a piece he did on Alberta's Disability workers, and in 2024, he won again for a story titled, "New Smile, New Life".

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