Former Charlottetown emergency shelter worker 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 appeared before Judge Jeff Lantz in provincial court on Monday. He was remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear again on July 18.

Charlottetown police arrested Poirier on June 14. In a news release, police said they seized 339 grams of fentanyl and 1,000 Xanax pills during the arrest.

Poirier has not yet entered a plea and none of the charges have been tested in court.

A government spokesperson confirmed that Poirier has not been a provincial employee since December 2023, but could not comment further 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 under the influence of drugs. He pleaded guilty in March 2019.

It is common practice in the province to conduct a criminal record check before hiring a new person, but the discovery of a criminal record does not necessarily prevent a department from hiring an individual.

According to a document on criminal record checks administered by the P.E.I. Public Service Commission, provided to CBC News by the government, a job can still be offered if a criminal record “does not give rise to a reasonable concern regarding the security” of provincial property, or the safety of people working for the public service or those who rely on government services.