Portraits of four among 931 people who died of illicit drug overdoses in 2016, making it the deadliest year on record. The BC Coroners Services reports that the powerful opioid fentanyl’s presence on the illicit drug market accounts for the spike in deaths. This year, as the provincial election entered its final week, B.C.’s overdose death toll had accelerated beyond last year’s rate, when the provincial health officer declared the overdose crisis a public health emergency.
In This Series
Loved Ones Lost: ‘I Want This Time to Teach You’
An addicted daughter’s words became her mother’s work. Last in a series.
Loved Ones Lost: Death of a Downtown Poet
Mel Hennan drew a community to him with his art, activism and cheerful embrace of life.
Loved Ones Lost: Tears for Marnie
She survived racism, violence, and homelessness but not BC’s overdose crisis. Part of a series.
Loved Ones Lost: An Oil Driller’s Struggle
Ryan knew he was fortunate to have his family’s support. Then luck turned cruel. First in a series.