It was an emotional day for the mothers who attended the national Day of Action in Parksville to urge the federal government to change its drug policy to prevent opioid-related overdose deaths.
The bereaved mothers, some armed with posters and placards that bear photos of their children impacted by substance use-related deaths, couldn’t hold back the tears as they assembled at the Gathering Place on Friday morning (April 14) to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the declaration of the B.C. Public Health Emergency due to the opioid crisis.
One of the organizers, Jane McCormick said since the declaration, very little has been done. She pointed out the number of deaths has doubled since then.
“We’re losing almost seven people per day in this province now and they continue to die,” said McCormick, a member of Moms Stop the Harm, a group that has been rallying for change of failed drug policies, providing peer support to grieving families, and assisting those with loved ones who use or have used substances.
“We want regulated, safe supply for the people that need it, to stop them from dying,” said McCormick, who also facilitates Healing Hearts bereavement group at the Forward Recovery Centre in Parksville. “That is our whole thing. Stop people from dying. I lost my son 18 months ago on the 22nd of this month. It was the most shattering thing that could ever happen to a person, to lose a child. It doesn’t matter how old he is. He is your child. My life has been changed forever.”
READ MORE: Chief coroner prescribes ‘urgency’ as B.C. records 2,272 toxic drug deaths in 2022
McCormick pointed out that the “the deaths and the drug poisonings are preventable. The government has the power to change it.”
Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns attended the event and expressed his sympathy to the mothers who lost their children to drug toxicity. He told the crowd there’s no simple answer or solution to the problem.
“We need to listen to the experts,” said Johns. “It should be evidence-based, science-based and we need an expert task force on such issues. That should be the guiding light in how we respond.”
He indicated there is also a need for all political leaders at all levels of government to work together and collaborate on a solution to the problem.
Johns felt his private member’s bill he presented to parliament in 2021 calling for an amendment to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to enact Bill C-216, the Expungement of Certain Drug-related Convictions Act and the National Strategy on Substance Use Act could have helped. It calls for provision of a safe supply, treatment on demand, the decriminalization of possession of illicit substances for personal use and investment in recovery, prevention and education. However, the bill was defeated.
“They’re (federal government) more worried about getting re-elected than doing the right thing,” said Johns. “Because it takes courage to stand up to the status quo. It takes courage to stand up to the policies that aren’t popular. And it’s really easy to go with populism and stuff like that and come forward with policies that are not the answer.”
McCormick said there is a need for more rallies to be staged to get the government to hear their pleas and their demands. She added that the crisis is happening everywhere including here in Parksville Qualicum Beach.
Earlier this year, the BC Coroners’ Service reported that 2022 was the second deadliest year of B.C.’s toxic drug crisis on record. Preliminary results show 2,272 people died from poisoned drugs last year — 34 deaths short of 2021’s record total.