Former Charlottetown emergency shelter employee charged with drug trafficking
A 29-year-old Stratford man, who was previously a provincial employee working at the Park Street emergency shelter in Charlottetown, has been charged with drug trafficking.
Tye James Poirier made an appearance before Judge Jeff Lantz in provincial court Monday. He was remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear again July 18.
Charlottetown Police arrested Poirier on June 14. In a news release, police said they had seized 339 grams of fentanyl and 1,000 Xanax tablets during the arrest.
Poirier has not yet entered a plea, and none of the accusations have been tested in court.
A government spokesperson confirmed Poirier has not been an employee of the province since December of 2023, but could not otherwise comment on personnel matters or an ongoing court case.
This is not Poirier's first encounter with the criminal justice system.
In December 2018, he was arrested and charged with driving while impaired by a drug. He pleaded guilty in March of 2019.
It is standard practice for the province to perform a criminal record check before a new hire, but finding a criminal record does not necessarily prevent a department from hiring a person.
According to a document on criminal record checks administered by the P.E.I. Public Service Commission, provided to CBC News by the government, employment may still be offered if a criminal record "does not give rise to a reasonable concern regarding the security" of provincial property, or the safety and security of people working for the civil service or people who rely on government services.
