The number of illicit drug deaths in British Columbia through the first nine months of 2016 has exceeded the number for the whole year of 2015, according to the latest statistics from the BC Coroners Service.

Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton and Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Morris issued the following statement:

To bolster the efforts underway to prevent illicit drug overdoses and related deaths, Premier Christy Clark announced that the Province is providing $10 million to support a British Columbia addiction treatment research and training centre and to fund strategies identified under the Joint Task Force on Overdose Prevention.

Like individual victims of crime, communities can now submit impact statements for the court’s consideration during the sentencing of convicted offenders.

The number of illicit drug deaths continued to drop slightly in August but the number of deaths from illicit drug use remains significantly increased from previous years, the latest statistics from the BC Coroners Service show.

Provincial Health officer Dr. Perry Kendall and director of police services Clayton Pecknold, co-chairs of the Joint Task Force on Overdose Response, have released the following statement.

The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a woman who died after a motor vehicle incident in Nanaimo on Sept. 5, 2016.

The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a man who died after a motor vehicle incident near Campbell River on Sept. 5, 2016.

The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a man who died after an air crash in Powell River on Sept. 5, 2016.