St. Stephen tenants evicted from suspected 'drug house'
CBC
At least eight people have been evicted from an apartment building in St. Stephen because they were suspected of participating in drug activity.
On Wednesday, RCMP and court sheriffs were helping provincial public safety officers in evicting the tenants from the building on Schoodic Street. At least one person was taken into an RCMP vehicle.
St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern said this building has been a source of many complaints in the past because of a lot of traffic, loud fights and parties "all hours of the night," and had a reputation of being a "drug house."
He said police couldn't do anything, so neighbours resorted to making a complaint through the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods program — a provincial program that allows the province to shut down properties that are suspected of being used for illegal activities for up to 90 days.
"They can approach a different way and they can deal with the landlord," MacEachern said in an interview Wednesday.
The SCAN program is not a criminal process and no charges can be laid through it. No criminality needs to be proven for an eviction to take place.
A SCAN investigation is triggered by a complaint from anyone who believes illegal activity such as prostitution and drug trafficking is taking place.
MacEachern said SCAN officers have been investigating the building for several weeks, and found enough evidence to serve the landlord with the shutdown order Wednesday.
The RCMP have not returned a request for information.
MacEachern said he's not sure what will happen to people who were evicted. According to the province's website, SCAN "works closely with social and community agencies to ensure other arrangements can be made for those affected by a building closure."
MacEachern did not have details of those arrangements when he spoke to CBC News on Wednesday.
He said he knows there's a risk this may not solve the problem, but rather just displace it.
"That's something we're going to learn in the process," he said.
Tenants' rights advocates have previously spoken out against the SCAN process. They've said criminal courts and the Residential Tenancies Act are already in place, and skipping the criminal process when criminality is suspected is not fair.
It's arguably Dawson City, Yukon's most iconic and beloved old taverns, and in a town renowned for its watering holes — another bar famously serves drinks garnished with a desiccated human toe — that's saying something.
First Nation expresses opposition to major projects ahead of prime minister's visit to Prince Rupert
Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Prince Rupert today to meet with Coastal First Nations to discuss major projects in northern B.C.
The Manitoba government will not order public servants back into the office full-time, bucking recent moves by Ontario and Alberta.
Before the sun rises and the first customers arrive, Dora Rzeszutek unlocks the front door of B & B Snack Bar restaurant in London's Woodfield neighbourhood.
When U.S. President Donald Trump’s top trade representative outlined conditions Canada would need to meet with a mandatory review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) looming, familiar issues like dairy supply management made the list.
Thousands of people living in Newfoundland and Labrador started the day without electricity, as Newfoundland Power dealt with widespread outages.
More than 700 people have been evacuated from Kashechewan First Nation so far, according to the community’s executive director. But most of the community is still waiting to leave.
A community-based response team being piloted in Dartmouth, N.S., offering an alternative model to police to support people in crisis, is expanding to 24-hour service.
N.B. Power estimated it would need to increase revenue from power rates by almost five per cent to pay for electricity from a new natural gas generating station in Tantramar, according to documents filed with the Energy and Utilities Board.
Local groups for snowmobilers, skiers and snowshoers are working hard to clear trails in and around Flin Flon, Man., but poor snow conditions and damage from last summer's fires — hundreds of downed trees, burned terrain, upturned roots and destroyed buildings and bridges — is making it difficult.
When Jermain McKenzie thinks of Trevor Dubois, he remembers an infectious laugh and a sense of humor that makes you laugh until you’re crying.
This story is a collaboration between CBC Visual Investigations and the Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF).
Overcrowding at the Niagara Detention Centre (NDC) reached its highest levels since 2019 in the first half of 2025 — with an occupancy rate of 136 per cent, according to data analyzed by CBC News.