Fort Saint James Mayor Bob Motion is gravely concerned over the number of overdoses in the community.
An alert was issued by the district’s RCMP Detachment this week after emergency crews responded to numerous overdoses.
Crews attended two calls for service in one day at the same house, resulting in one death.
The matter is now under investigation by the BC Coroners Service.
Motion told Vista Radio an issue like this hits pretty close to home for rural communities like theirs.
“You might not know that person directly but you are only one person removed from someone who knew that person. That’s how it hits us a lot harder in a place like this because in a city like Prince George there are more people obviously and less of a direct connection.”
BC on pace to record 2,000 illicit drug deaths in 2021: Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe
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2021 is turning out to be another grim year when it comes to drug overdose deaths in BC.
For the third consecutive month, over five British Columbians per day lost their lives to illicit substances.
This comes as the BC Coroners Service reported 158 people passed away in March – 12 of those occurred in Northern Health.
The death toll now stands at 498 this year and if the current pace continues, the province could see 2,000 illicit drug deaths this year, smashing last year’s record-high of 1,729.
For the third consecutive month, over five British Columbians per day lost their lives to illicit drugs.
According to the BC Coroners Service, Northern Health recorded 12 overdose deaths in March with seven of those occurring in Prince George.
Province-wide, 158 people passed away from illicit substances last month – a 41% increase when compared to March of 2020.
“Once again, we are reminded of the incredible toll that the toxic drug emergency is having on communities throughout our province,” said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner.
͞The illicit drug supply in British Columbia is volatile and unpredictable, and anyone using a substance from this unregulated market is vulnerable to serious injury or death.”
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VICTORIA British Columbia’s chief coroner says the province recorded the most deaths ever in a single year due to an unnatural cause, with 1,716 lives lost to illicit drug overdoses in 2020.
Lisa Lapointe says that’s an “alarming” death rate of 33.4 per 100,000 people and it far surpassed fatalities due to suicides, homicides, motor vehicle crashes and prescription drug deaths combined.
Kamloops also set a record for overdose deaths in a year with 60. The previous high was 46, set in 2018. The 2020 total ranks Kamloops sixth in the province, behind Vancouver (408), Surrey (214), Victoria (122), Abbotsford (65) and Kelowna (61).
Per capita, the Thompson Cariboo was the Health Service Delivery Area (HDSA) with the fourth-highest overdose death rate in B.C. last year, behind Vancouver, Northern Interior and Northeast. The Thompson Cariboo saw 40.2 overdose deaths per 100,000 population.