Demonstrations are taking place in four communities across Vancouver Island this weekend to mark International Overdose Awareness Day on Sunday.
The events will be led by Doctors for Safer Drug Policy and supported by a network of civil society organizations, frontline workers, and bereaved families.
The demonstrations will feature powerful visual memorials—photographs, community displays, and statements from clinicians, public health experts, people with lived experience, and families who have buried loved ones.
The goal is to honour the lives lost to the toxic drug poisoning emergency and demand urgent, evidence-based political action.
Three of the four events happen today.
The final event happens Monday on the lawn of the BC Legislature. The first speaker will be former B.C. chief coroner Lisa Lapointe at 11:15 a.m.
Since 2016, at more than 52,000 Canadians have been killed by the toxic, unregulated drug supply. More than 16,000 people have died in B.C. alone.