Overdose deaths up 43 per cent in 2017

The city of Vancouver lost nearly one person a day to an illicit drug overdoses in 2017.

The city says there were estimated 335 overdose deaths last year, compared with 234 the year before — a 43-per-cent jump.

Vancouver fire chief Darrell Reid, who presented the figures to Vancouver city council on Wednesday, said first responders answered 6,234 overdose calls in 2017, compared to 4,709 in 2016.

Toxicology reports on the most recent deaths are not yet complete and final overdose death numbers need to be confirmed by the B.C. Coroners Service.

The coroners service says there were 300 illicit drug overdose deaths in Vancouver between January and October, 2017. The opioid crisis claimed 1,208 lives in B.C. during the same period with the synthetic opioid fentanyl being involved in 999.

“Last year saw an unprecedented overdose death toll in Vancouver,” Mayor Gregor Robertson said. “The magnitude ... is horrific and is putting an unbearable strain on our emergency responders, front-line workers and community volunteers, who are working around the clock.”

Robertson noted positive trends did emerge in the second half of 2017 with a significant drop in the number of deaths from earlier in the year.

“The city of Vancouver has been pouring in resources and has established itself as a national leader with its municipal overdose response, and we appreciate that the new B.C. government has taken significant steps to address this crisis. While the number of deaths is far too high, we are seeing some positive trends emerge with a significant drop in the second half of the year compared to the first,” he said. “We will continue to tackle the opioid epidemic headon, and hope that all three levels of government can turn the tide and end these preventable deaths.”