"No words can replace these losses": BC surpasses 10,000 illicit drug deaths in six years

BC has crossed another tragic milestone in the overdose crisis. According to the BC Coroners Service, the province has surpassed 10,000 deaths since declaring a public health emergency.

That public health emergency was declared back in 2016 and since then, BC has repeatedly seen a record number of people dying from toxic drugs.

Now, illicit drug toxicity is the “leading cause of unnatural death in British Columbia,” the service said Tuesday.

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Between January and June of this year, 1,095 British Columbians lost their lives to the toxic drug supply in the province, according to preliminary data from the BC Coroners Service.

BC Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson says those deaths are a deep loss to “our communities.”

“My heart goes out to everyone who is grieving. No words can replace these losses.”

“The paramedics, police officers, peers and other first responders on the frontline of the toxic drug crisis save lives every single day, and our government is deeply grateful for their heroic work.”

“We continue to confront this emergency from every angle, making the large, systemic changes necessary to turn the tide on this crisis. Although progress on building a system of care is being made, we know there is more to do. We won’t stop working until all British Columbians can access the services they need and deserve,” says Malcolmson.

A majority of the deaths took place in Fraser Health region (352) and Vancouver Coastal Health region (297). The vast majority of the deaths were in men between the ages of 30 and 59.