VICTORIA, B.C. – Today’s BC Coroners Service report revealed that in March 2022, 165 people in B.C. died from suspected illicit drug poisoning. Sonia Furstenau, leader of the B.C. Greens and MLA for Cowichan Valley, has issued the following statement:
“Each month these numbers of deaths reinforce that we are in a public health emergency, and yet we see little evidence of the significant changes required to reduce deaths due to drug poisonings. For example, it’s difficult to understand when the government closes a youth detox program when what we need is more funding for these services so that they are available when youth seek them out.
“The Ministries of Health and Mental Health and Addictions will miss the deadline of May 9th for a safe supply framework set by the Death Review Panel. In spite of this deadline being missed, the Select Standing Committee on Health is taking this work seriously. Earlier this week we met for the first time to hear presentations from the provincial health officer and the deputy chief medical officer of the First Nations Health Authority. We must implement the solutions to this health emergency.”
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Media contact
JoJo Beattie
Press Secretary
B.C. Green Caucus
+1 250-882-6187 | [email protected]