B.C. chief coroner Lisa Lapointe retiring, saddened by overdose crisis policy
![Lisa Lapointe Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe speaks during a press conference at the press gallery at Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Dec. 19, 2016. Lapointe has announced she is leaving her post after 13 years, deeply saddened the province has been unable to reduce the 'tragic impacts' of toxic drugs on thousands of people. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2023/12/6/lisa-lapointe-1-6676269-1701894253209.jpeg)
British Columbia's Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe says she's leaving her post after 13 years, saddened by her agency's inability to sway policies to reduce the “tragic impacts” of toxic drugs on thousands of people.
The B.C. Coroners Service had been “forever altered” by the public health emergency that continued to take the lives of people of all ages across the province, including more than 2,000 deaths so far this year, Lapointe said in a statement Wednesday.
B.C. declared a drug overdose public health emergency in April 2016. Latest numbers show the loss of 13,317 lives, at a current rate of more than six people a day.
“(It) deeply saddens me that we have been unable to influence the essential change necessary to reduce the tragic impacts of toxic drugs on so many thousands of our family members, friends and colleagues across the province,” she said.
Recommendations by coroners service death-review panels, including providing a safe supply of drugs without prescription, are needed to end the overdose crisis, said Lapointe.
But the B.C. government rejected those recommendations last month, minutes before Lapointe was set to deliver a report on them at a news conference.
“The measures recommended by the expert members of coroners service death-review panels are essential to ending this crisis and I will continue to support those recommendations post-retirement,” Lapointe said.
Lapointe, whose third term ends with her retirement on Feb. 18, 2024, said she had the honour of serving the people of B.C. for the past 30 years, including holding positions at the coroners service, corrections branch and the civil forfeiture office.
She said the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General will initiate a recruitment process to choose her successor.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6966456.1721172462!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
Toronto flooding: Pictures, videos show heavy rainfall today in downtown core
Toronto was pounded by torrential rain Tuesday afternoon and pictures and video are showing the extent of the flooding in the city’s downtown core and beyond.
'Something you'd see in a hurricane:' Toronto saw more than a month's worth of rain in three hours
In the span of three hours, Toronto was hit by three thunderstorms, bringing a record amount of rain that caused massive flooding across the city, according to a senior meteorologist with Environment Canada.
Why fewer fans are showing up for Saskatchewan Roughrider games
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have one of the strongest fan bases in the league but are having a tough time filling their stadium this year.
Freeland has 'confidence,' but wouldn't say whether PM has promised her job is safe
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says she feels that she has the confidence she needs to carry on in her role as finance minister, but won't say whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has offered her any specific assurances.
Ingrid Andress says she's checking into rehab after viral national anthem performance: 'I was drunk last night'
Country music artist Ingrid Andress says she was intoxicated during her much-criticized performance of the national anthem on Monday at the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby and will be seeking treatment.
Who is Usha Vance, the wife of Trump's running mate?
JD Vance has had several introductions to the American people: as the author of a memoir on what ails the White working class, as a newly elected Republican senator in his home state of Ohio and, on Monday, as his party’s nominee for vice president. His wife, Usha, has been by his side through it all.
Canada drops $9M on NYC luxury condo for consul general's official residence
Canada spent $9 million last month to buy a luxury condo in Manhattan for the official residence for its consul general in New York but the federal government is refusing to say what is being done with the old property.
BREAKING Union representing LCBO workers returning to bargaining table tomorrow
The union representing thousands of striking LCBO workers says it is returning to the bargaining table on Wednesday.
LIVE UPDATES DVP cleanup will take hours, city says; 50,000 remain without power
It’s going to take hours for the Don Valley Parkway to be cleared after heavy rainfall flooded the Greater Toronto Area with almost 100 millimetres of rain on Tuesday, according to the city.