6 THURSDAY February 14, 2019 • BurnabyNOW
Opinion now OUR VIEW
Rise in local overdose deaths a sign change needed
British Columbia experienced another record year of drug overdose deaths in 2018, with at least one person dying on all but 11 days. Those are the devastating numbers released by the BC Coroners Service.They show that, despite all the efforts made to raise awareness about the dangers, too many people are still dying. The death rate is another tragic record number, although it has perhaps
reached a plateau, as the percentage jump is minimal compared with previous years. In 2018, there were 1,489 suspected illicit drug overdose deaths, compared with 1,487 in 2017. In Burnaby, the number of drug overdose deaths dropped – slightly – to 43 from 44. “The illicit drug supply is unpredictable and unmanageable, and fentanyl is now implicated in 86 per cent of overdose deaths,” BC Cor-
oners Service chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said. But, she stressed, 77 per cent of the deaths are of regular users, which could serve as a warning to people who might want to use drugs recreationally, but are at risk of not getting what they think they’re buying on the street. Lapointe said the illicit drug fatality rate now far exceeds the motor vehicle, suicide and homicide death rates combined.
By the numbers, most deaths involve males using alone in private residences. This is why so much effort has been put into raising awareness about not using when you are alone. In 2018, 71 per cent of those who died were aged 30 to 59. Males accounted for 80 per cent of all suspected overdose deaths. So, apart from what’s being currently done, what changes can be made to government policy to save
lives? The province’s chief medical health officer says the numbers indicate the time has arrived to deliver access to regulated opioids to those at risk. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the numbers continue to be distressing. She said work to prevent deaths continues, with 140,000 naloxone kits to reverse opioid overdoses distributed and overdose
prevention sites and drugtesting services now available. But it’s not enough, she said.What’s needed is access to a regulated, clean supply of drugs so users can stay alive and possibly move toward treatment and recovery. There is heavy resistance to this idea from the “just say no” crowd. Clearly, that approach isn’t working. It’s time to have a public debate to stop this epidemic.
MY VIEW KEITH BALDREY
Indigenous views ignored
As Trans Mountain protests get set to resume, a growing schism is being played out between the environmental protest movement and various First Nations. While non-aboriginal protesters find it easy to take on natural resource companies and various governments, they may find it much tougher to pick a sustained fight with First Nations who support the projects they oppose. While many First Nations oppose the project, more than 30 First Nations actually support it as an economic development vehicle. And First Nations leaders are starting to speak out in favour of other projects, such as the LNG Canada project up north.This is an important development because, up until now, many First Nations have opted not to participate in the public debate on these kinds of projects. The First Nations LNG Alliance is getting more vocal in its support. Its CEO, Karen Ogen-Toews, recently penned an op-ed piece. “I’ve seen our people, first-hand, living in real poverty,” she wrote. “I’ve seen the social issues, the astronomical unemployment rates, the child-welfare cases, the suicides, the addictions, the low levels of education, the poor housing conditions.” Addressing those issues, she pointed out, is the reason why 20 First Nations along the pipeline route support the project. Crystal Smith, the chief councillor of the Haisla First Nations, recently took aim at a First Nations um-
brella organization that has aligned itself with the environmental protesters. “Given the large First Nations support for the Coast Gas link, I am disappointed that the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs is choosing to stoke the flames of the conflict regarding the Wet’suwet’en issue, rather than stand in support of 20 Nations which have signed agreements for the natural gas pipeline,” Smith told a Natural Resources Forum in Prince George. Cheam First Nation leader Ernie Crey, in particular, has been critical of both First Nations and protesters who oppose Trans Mountain. “I respect the grey beards in the Indigenous community but their opposition to the petroleum sector is harming us & will undermine the future of our young folks who want & need jobs,” Crey recently tweeted. “The future belongs to the young, not to those of us who are either retired or near retirement.” And former Haisla councilor Ellis Ross, now a BC Liberal MLA, had this to say on Twitter: “I see that some environmentalists think that to aid in their campaigns against resource projects in B.C., all they need do is scare up a few hereditary chiefs and use them as they would a wreath of garlic to fend off vampires.They best think again.” You can expect this schism between First Nations and the environmental protest movement will continue to widen – not shrink. Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC.
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SFU gets bigW.A.C. of files In what was described as a “major coup” for the Simon Fraser University archives, all the personal and political papers of B.C.’s longest serving premier,W.A.C. Bennett, were donated to the university in March. SFU seemed like the right choice since it was Bennett who gave the OK for the school to be built, he was granted an honorary degree from the university and its library was named after him. SFU archivist Don Braid estimated it would take a couple years to go through all of the 110 boxes, containing material covering Bennett’s political career.
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