VANCOUVER — British Columbia's health minister says he has taken the "extraordinary measure" of enacting a ministerial order to support the creation of overdose prevention sites.
Terry Lake says the order gives provincial emergency health services and regional health authorities the ability to provide overdose prevention treatment as necessary on an emergency basis.
He says the order was enacted on the advice of provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall and will last for the duration of the opioid-related public health emergency.
Several overdose prevention sites were established in B.C. last week, including three in Vancouver and one in Prince George, with more planned for Victoria and Surrey this week.
The sites allow people to inject illicit drugs while monitored by trained professionals equipped with naloxone, but B.C. says it's not skirting a law that requires federal approval to open a supervised-injection site.
