The province is facing another wave of drug-related deaths, with a recent report from the BC Coroners Service stating that a total of 366 people died from toxic drugs in May and June.
These deaths were split pretty evenly across the two months, with May resulting in 181 deaths and June having 185, which mental health and addictions minister Jennifer Whiteside said emphasizes the need for proper addiction care and resources throughout B.C.
"Every single one of these people was irreplaceable to their loved ones, and our words fall short of bringing comfort to those who are grieving and enduring a heartbreaking loss," said Whiteside. "These losses reinforce the urgent need to keep people safe from toxic drugs and to connect them with care and treatment that works for them."
Making up a sizable portion of these deaths was the Fraser North Health Service Delivery Area (HSDA), which includes Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Burnaby, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody.
In May, the Fraser North HSDA experienced 12 deaths, followed by another 17 in June, which exactly matches the number of drug deaths in June of 2023.
Based on the population of the Fraser North communities, the HSDA had a ratio of 1.5 deaths for every 100,000 people in May and 2.1 deaths in June.
Compared to the other HSDAs in the province, Fraser North is actually quite low on the list, with the third-least deaths per 100,000 residents for May and tied for the fourth lowest in June.
When combined with the drug deaths numbers from earlier this year, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and the rest of Fraser North have seen a total of 89 deaths in the first half of 2024.
