Six years ago today, BC declared a public health emergency into substance-related harm, and all these years later, the crisis continues to plague the province.
It’s prompting Victoria’s mayor and city council to renew a call for action.
“We’ve urged both the federal and provincial governments to create more treatment beds, implement safe supply and decriminalize small amounts of drugs for personal use,” said Mayor Lisa Helps.
“These actions reduce stigma, and they save lives.”
Helps released a statement on Thursday urging the federal government to support BC’s request for an exemption from Health Canada under Section 56(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
According to Helps, this will “help us meet substance use with the public health approach it deserves. We also call on the federal government to adopt federal Bill C-216.”
The bill would amend the Substances Act and revoke a provision that makes it an offence to possess certain substances.
“We must get to a point as a society where no one loses their life to a toxic drug supply, and we must get there soon,” said Helps.
Victoria residents, including the Moms Stop The Harm group, are also pushing for more to be done by officials.
A rally at Centennial Square this morning saw a crowd gather bearing signs stamped with words like “Stop Overdose Deaths” and “My Loved One Mattered”. Another sign read, “BC Drug Policies Are Killing Our Loved Ones”.
Overdose deaths highest in Victoria, Vancouver and Surrey
Since the declaration of the public health emergency in 2016, more than 9,400 people in BC have died, with most deaths recorded in three BC cities, including Victoria.
“Each of these deaths is one more person who will never have a chance for recovery. It’s one more family member lost, with mourning relatives left behind,” said Helps.
On Tuesday, the BC Coroners Service announced an estimated 174 British Columbians lost their lives in February of this year due to toxic illicit drugs—the 17th consecutive month with more than 150 fatalities.
“These are preventable deaths,” noted Helps.
“Our healthcare system fully vaccinated over 90% of British Columbians against COVID-19 in just over a year. We know there is capacity for action.
“This same level of commitment and action is required to get safe prescription supply into the hands of those who need it, so that a substance use disorder is treated like a medical issue, rather than a criminal issue.”
Fentanyl continues to be the predominant substance found in post-mortem testing, the Coroners Service found in its latest data.
“The supply of illicit drugs in Canada has become so toxic – so poisoned and tainted with fentanyl – that we cannot hope to address the escalating death toll without providing access to a safe, medically-regulated drug supply,” added Helps.
“This will save lives.”
