Calls for expanded safe supply as B.C. counts another 179 toxic drug deaths
Calls for expanded safe supply as B.C. counts another 179 toxic drug deaths
VICTORIA -
British Columbia's coroner says the overdose death toll for October reached 179 people, prompting a renewed call for Premier David Eby to introduce a widely accessible safe supply of drugs.
The coroner says the October statistics show that illicit drugs caused the deaths of 1,827 people in B.C. in the first 10 months of this year.
Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says the increased toxicity and variability of street drugs has created an environment where everyone who uses substances is at risk.
Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau, a member of the legislature's standing committee on health, says it heard from many people who said the safe supply of drugs needs to be expanded to save lives.
Lapointe agrees it's imperative that a safer supply is available in all areas of the province, adding it's not a matter of choosing one approach or another but improving all access for treatment and recovery.
Sheila Malcolmson, the minister of mental health and addictions, says her heart goes out to those families, friends and communities that are grieving their losses.
“Our government is expanding and evolving our response to this public-health emergency as we strive to stop the terrible loss of life to the poisoned drug supply,” the minister says in a statement.
“While we have been adding new treatment and recovery services, expanding overdose prevention and working to end stigma about addiction, the increasing illicit drug toxicity has taken more lives.”
The coroner's statistics show 453 deaths have occurred this year in Vancouver, or about 25 per cent of those who died.
However, Prince George in northern B.C. and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island have recorded more illicit drug-related deaths this year than in any previous year.
The service says both the Island and Northern Health authorities are trending towards record lives lost to overdose.
At least 10,688 B.C. residents have died since the government first declared a public health emergency in April 2016.
The service says illicit drug toxicity is the leading cause of unnatural death in the province.
U.S. President Joe Biden is using his State of the Union address Tuesday night to call on Republicans to work with him to 'finish the job' of rebuilding the economy and uniting the nation as he seeks to overcome pessimism in the country and navigate political divisions in Washington.
After raising interest rates eight consecutive times, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told an audience in Quebec City on Tuesday that inflation is showing signs of 'turning the corner' and that the coming year 'will be different.'
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
While much of internet is still buzzing about the wonders of ChatGPT, a Toronto-based technology and visual effects company is making its own splash in Hollywood using artificial intelligence.
As negotiations continue between premiers and the federal government, former Quebec premier Jean Charest is criticizing the feds' string-attached approach to health-care funding, stating that Ottawa should not be in the business of operating health-care systems.
We may soon be able to detect humidity levels, respiratory changes or a too-wet diaper, all with a new type of sensor — one created by drawing with a pencil on specially-treated paper.
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars.
A 24-year-old man now linked to an unusual string of crimes that kept the Dallas Zoo on the lookout for missing animals told police that after he swiped two monkeys from their enclosure, he took them onto the city's light rail system to make his getaway, court records show.
Balloons and drones were among 768 reported UFO sightings in Canada last year, according to Winnipeg-based researcher Chris Rutkowski, who also found that eight per cent of all cases remained unexplained.
A Victoria man says a series of devastating earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria have left him feeling nearly paralyzed, as the death toll from the quakes rises above 6,200 people.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith expressed her concerns with the federal government's proposed 'just transition' legislation directly to the prime minister on Tuesday, saying she hopes the two can find some common ground.
If Alberta accepts Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal health proposal, it would see, on average, $2.5 billion over the next 10 years, in line with population growth.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith expressed her concerns with the federal government's proposed 'just transition' legislation directly to the prime minister on Tuesday, saying she hopes the two can find some common ground.
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Meaghan Maloney of London, Ont. said she was driving on her way to work, along Highway 401, in her 2023 Nissan Rogue when the sunroof shattered without warning.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Quebec interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay says that in wanting to close Roxham Road to prevent irregular entry of asylum seekers into Quebec, the Parti Québécois and its leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon are behaving like Donald Trump.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Robyn Silvernagle will be making her third appearance at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts next week in Kamloops, BC, just weeks after her team was put together.
Residents at a downtown Saskatoon apartment complex are speaking out about what they say are unreasonable rent increases and a lack of attention to building repairs.
A forensic pathologist offered her expert opinion on how Catlin Goodwill’s three-month-old son died suddenly in October 2017, during testimony on the second day of trial.
A former medical student who claims he fatally shot a fellow student in self-defence during a drug deal in Halifax denied Tuesday he planned to kill the man and steal the marijuana he was carrying.
Retirement is bittersweet for a Nova Scotia doctor who says she feels like she has abandoned the 2,000 patients she has been caring for because she was not able to find a doctor to replace her.
A special weather statement is in effect for most of the southern Ontario. A strong low pressure system will bring rain that is heavy at times to London-Middlesex and surrounding areas beginning early Thursday morning.
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars.
A dog in desperate need of care was found abandoned during frigid temperatures over the weekend and is just one of the many cases of abandoned dogs, according to Animal Control in that area.
Roundabouts are under the microscope in Waterloo region as regional councillors are reviewing the safety of the road design following a pair of serious collisions involving pedestrians.
