Women from Maple Ridge joined the protest of Moms Stop the Harm at the office of Health Minister Adrian Dix on Thursday morning in Vancouver.
Another “Enough is Enough” rally was also held in the provincial capital, demanding the government take more action to stop the number of drug deaths in B.C., and it was attended by Maple Ridge women, including Tracy Scott and Kat Wahamaa, who wrote and performed a song for the event.
According to a report by the BC Coroner’s service released on Wednesday, at least 2,224 British Columbians died from toxic drug poisonings in 2021, making it the worst year in the province’s history in the ongoing overdose crisis. That’s an average of six deaths per day.
READ ALSO: 6 people died per day from B.C.’s toxic drug supply last year
For Maple Ridge, it was also the most deadly year ever recorded, with 45 deaths. The previous high was 39, the year prior.
The problem appears to be getting worse. The last two months of 2021 saw the largest number of suspected illicit drug deaths ever recorded in the province, with 210 deaths in November and an additional 215 in December.
“There must be more noise made about the overdose deaths,” said Debbie Picco, a Maple Ridge resident who is a member of Moms Stop the Harm.
She lost her son Tommy, in October 2020, to a drug overdose that included fentanyl. He was 36.
READ ALSO: Grieving Maple Ridge mother calls for decriminalization of drugs for Black Balloon Day
Picco wants to see the provincial government treating the epidemic of overdoses with the same urgency they do the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Why isn’t something being done? There are lots of avenues the government could go down,” she said.
She wasn’t able to attend the rally in Vancouver, but adds her voice to the frequent calls for more recovery beds, and for safe consumption in cities such as Maple Ridge, where there are many addicted people who are homeless.
“People are dying in the streets.”
Chris Bossley, who advocates for street people in Maple Ridge, was at Dix’s office, where she said a small group of less than 50 demonstrated, and marched with their signs. Bossley has not lost a family member, but knows many of those in Maple Ridge who have died of overdose in recent years.
“It was an opportunity for people who’ve suffered this tragic loss to come together, and to know we’re not alone,” she said.
Moms Stop the Harm is urging people to collectively speak up for action from the government to turn the overdose crisis around.
“This is a public health emergency, one that has been declared as such for over five years, but where is the tangible action. This isn’t about more treatment beds, more ads on bus shelters; it’s about a full health-care sector response led by the government to develop a continuum of care to support people who use drugs in our province,” said Leslie McBain, co-founder with Moms Stop the Harm.
“Access to safer supply, decriminalization of drugs for personal possession, reducing stigma, and creating urgency in the province around finding solutions needs to be the action taken today by the government – every elected official in our province must make this a priority.”
READ ALSO: B.C. applies to decriminalize personal possession of illicit drugs amid opioid crisis
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