emon halim / CC
B-C’s toxic drug crisis killed 2,272 people across the province last year and more than 11-thousand since the public health emergency was declared in 2016. The B-C Coroners Service has released numbers for 2022, and although they show 34 fewer deaths than in 2021, the coroner says last year’s toll will “almost certainly increase” as investigations conclude and final causes of death are determined. Vancouver, Surrey and Greater Victoria reported the highest number of tainted drug deaths last year, but the coroner says the highest death rate was in the Northern Health authority where there were 60 for every 100-thousand people. Fentanyl it still detected — alone or with other drugs — in more than 80 per cent of fatalities but the coroners service says the percentage has dropped from 86 per cent in 2021 to 82 per cent last year — although it cautions that last year’s numbers are likely to climb.
