Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, has released the following statement regarding the BC Coroner’s Service’s year-end report:

As the province’s drug toxicity public health emergency continues into its eighth year, at least 2,272 British Columbians lost their lives to toxic drugs in 2022. 

Sooke Mountain and Discovery Island Marine provincial parks are being considered for inclusion in treaties being negotiated with the T’Sou-ke and Songhees Nations.

Katrine Conroy, Minister Responsible for the Columbia River Treaty, has issued the following statement after the 15th round of Canada-U.S. negotiations toward a modernized Columbia River Treaty, which took place in Vancouver, B.C., on Jan. 25 and 26, 2023:

More than 725 child care spaces are joining the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program in February, bringing the number of spaces to 12,700 and helping families across the province save thousands of dollars per year.

Premier David Eby and Mable Elmore, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, have issued the following statement on the National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia:

Mayne Island families are celebrating the opening of the Family Place, the island’s first standalone child care centre, and a community asset that can accommodate 36 children.

Significant efforts are underway to stabilize and improve access to reliable health-care services, including emergency care, in Port Hardy and the Mount Waddington region.