Vulnerable people experiencing homelessness will now have access to additional safe shelter spaces during the cold winter months and times of extreme weather in communities around British Columbia.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Selina Robinson and Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Shane Simpson have issued the following joint statement in recognition of Homelessness Action Week, Oct. 8-14:

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy has issued the following statement regarding Mental Illness Week, Oct. 1–7, 2017, and World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, 2017:

Judy Darcy, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, issued the following statement regarding the proclamation of Recovery Week in British Columbia, Sept. 3-9, 2017:

Fentanyl has been detected in more than four of every five illicit-drug overdose deaths in British Columbia through the first seven months of 2017, according to the latest statistics from the BC Coroners Service.

Judy Darcy, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, has issued the following statement regarding International Overdose Awareness Day, Aug. 31, 2017:

The stories of people taken by the overdose crisis come from every corner of the province. A forestry worker in the North who became addicted to painkillers for a workplace injury and then turned to street drugs. Friends celebrating after a wedding in the Interior. Suburban parents who left behind young children. Middle-aged men who were clean and sober for years.

The Province is providing $4.5 million to purchase the Super 8 motel, located at 1706 Main St., for supportive housing.

Illicit drug deaths in British Columbia continue to be a serious concern with the number of overdose deaths in the province up 88% compared with the same period in 2016, according to the latest statistics from the BC Coroners Service.