B.C. committee gives recommendations to address toxic drug crisis

The British Columbia government’s Select Standing Committee on Health has released over three-dozen recommendations to address the toxic drug crisis in the province.

The final committee report released Tuesday used testimonies from 118 presenters and 881 written submissions to make 37 recommendations aimed at “moving BC out of the current public health emergency.”

It includes calls for a “substantial increase” in funding for recovery and detox programs and the expansion of the take-home naloxone program.

Related Stories:

• Fraser Health becomes latest to implement toxic drug warning system

• Safer opioid supply program leads to drop in hospitalizations, ER visits: study

The committee also says overdose and mental health calls should be redirected from police to more specialized responders whenever possible.

Additionally, the report underlines the “critical gaps” in the province’s care system.

“A striking gap in the substance use continuum of care that emerged during the Committee’s examination was the frequency with which people who died due to illicit drug toxicity had recent contact with the health care system or government services,” the report states.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson says the report re-affirms the approach the NDP government is already taking to address the province’s toxic drug supply and overdose crisis.

“The committee’s report and recommendations reinforce our government’s continued action to expand and build new supports and services throughout the province,” she said. “There is more to do to tackle this public health emergency. We will not stop working until we turn this crisis around and people in our province can get the help they need.”

The 37 recommendations in the report are spread across a handful of subtopics. They include government response, prevention and education, harm reduction, treatment and recovery, safer supply, enforcement and decriminalization, youth, and Indigenous peoples.

The standing committee is made up of members from all political.

BC Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau says the final report was “too timid.”

“Today’s report is a reflection of the political landscape of this Assembly. In terms of recognizing the role of safe supply to stabilize this situation, the recommendations of this report do not go as far as I’d hoped,“ she said, adding she hopes incoming premier David Eby will take further action on the report’s recommendations.

In the first eight months of 2022, nearly 1,500 people died from the toxic drug crisis, according to the BC Coroner’s Service. The province estimates over 10,000 lives have been lost since a public health crisis was declared in 2016.

With files from The Canadian Press and Charlie Carey.