70% of accidental deaths in B.C. prisons due to toxic drugs: coroner's report
The majority of accidental deaths that occurred in B.C. prisons over the last decade were due to toxic drugs, a new report released by the provincial coroner shows.
The BC Coroners Service shared data Thursday that showed an increase in overall deaths in provincial and federal correctional facilities. The annual average number of deaths in B.C. correctional facilities over the last decade was 17 per year, the data showed, but in 2023, 25 inmates died. Over a five-year period, the number of deaths in correctional facilities in the province increased by 56 per cent.
Investigations into many deaths are ongoing – including all of the ones that occurred in 2023. According to information available, 17 deaths between 2013 and 2022 were classified as accidental. Of those, 12 were caused by unregulated drug toxicity, the BC Coroners Service said.
"It's important to note that this includes only confirmed drug-toxicity cases on closed coroner investigations," a statement from the BC Coroners Service said. "All data in the report is subject to change as individual investigations are completed and causes of death are confirmed."
BC Coroners Service also noted men accounted for a significant majority of deaths in correctional facilities in the province. Between 2013 and 2023, 98 per cent of inmates who died in a correctional facility were male. No female deaths were reported between 2018 and 2023.
According to the BC Coroners Service, the province's unregulated drug supply is the leading cause of death for British Columbians between the ages of 10 and 59. Since the province declared a public-health emergency in April 2016, at least 14,400 people have died from toxic drugs in B.C.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa Food Bank receives largest donation in its 40-year history
210,000 pounds of food was delivered to the Ottawa Food Bank on Saturday, the largest donation in its 40-year history.
Your father’s diet before you were born could have affected your health, a new study suggests
Your father's diet before you were born could have played a role in your health, a new study has found.
Singh 'more alarmed than before' after reading full foreign interference report
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he is 'even more alarmed than before' after reading the un-redacted report alleging there are MPs and senators who are participating to some degree in foreign interference efforts.
Prince William shares childhood photo of him and King Charles III for Father's Day
Prince William on Sunday shared a photograph showing him as a child with his father, King Charles III, to mark Father’s Day in the United Kingdom this year.
Clooney and Roberts help Biden raise US$30 million-plus at a star-studded Hollywood gala
Some of Hollywood's brightest stars headlined a fundraiser for U.S. President Joe Biden that took in a record US$30 million-plus for a Democratic candidate, according to his campaign, in hopes of energizing would-be supporters for a White House contest they said may rank among the most consequential in U.S. history.
'We're in pretty good shape': Calgary goes low in water consumption after state of local emergency declared
On a day that a local state of emergency was declared in Calgary, city residents answered a request from the mayor and emergency officials to use less water.
Joe Alwyn says breakup with Taylor Swift was 'a hard thing to navigate'
Joe Alwyn is speaking publicly for the first time about the end of his years-long relationship with Taylor Swift.
A new tax filing system could give Canadians more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits: PBO
Canadians would get more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits each year through an automatic tax filing system, according to a report published by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).
No injuries reported after camper engulfed in flames in parking garage: Regina fire
A fire in an underground parking facility in Regina led to no injuries, according to the city's fire department.