Good morning {{First name}}!
Looks like a brolly week, with rain forecast for each day.
In keeping with the Ides of March, that’s our little heads-up.
— Mark
Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes
🌡 Weather Forecast
NEWS
29 Islanders died from toxic drugs in January
Chief Coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan. Photo: Province of BC / FLickr
Nine people in Greater Victoria died from unregulated drugs in the first month of the year, along with 17 people on the Central Island and three on the North Island, according to the BC Coroners Service (BCCS).
Across the province, a suspected 150 people died from toxic drugs in January. This marks a 10% reduction in deaths compared with the same time last year, when 167 people died. Still, it represents 4.8 deaths a day, the average rate in 2025.
Nearly three-quarters of people killed by toxic drugs in January were between 30 and 59 years old, and 80% were male, the BCCS said. Nearly eight in every 10 deaths were linked to fentanyl and its analogues—the substance has been a major driver of the health crisis, as its concentration is often unpredictable.
Last year’s provincial death toll was the first since 2020 to be below 2K, a promising trend after years of increasing mortality. But it wasn’t long ago that more than 500 people killed by toxic drugs in one year was a shocking statistic.
It will be 10 years next month since BC declared it a public health emergency, and it has taken more than 16K lives. In 2015, a year before the emergency was declared, 528 people died from unregulated substances. Eight years later, in 2023, an unprecedented 2,590 people died that way.
Each month, community memorials are held at St. John the Divine Church. On Thursday at 1pm, six locals who died last month will be remembered.
⚠ Capital Bulletin
Road closure: Fisgard at Government tomorrow through Friday. [City of Vic]
Sidewalk closure on Dallas, between St. Lawrence and Simcoe, for one month starting tomorrow. [City of Vic]
Victoria lane closures though Friday:
Cook, from Bay to Lang.
Blanshard from Pembroke to Caledonia, both directions.
Bay at Blanshard St., northwest corner.
Saanich Road closures through Friday:
Kremlin between Broadmead and Kisber, 4pm-8am (overnight).
Kisber at Kremlin, 24 hours.
Gas prices are up 15 cents/litre since Friday, pretty much everywhere. [CHEK]
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