Drug overdose deaths are down by 24 per cent between April last year and this April, but still B-C’s Coroner says 182 people died.
Fentanyl remains the primary killer, with the drug detected in 82 per cent of test results for those who died so far this year.
The coroner’s service says nearly half of those who overdosed were between the ages of 30 and 49.
The latest figures lift the number of deaths since the public health emergency was declared eight years ago to 14-thousand 582 people.
The number of active wildfires in British Columbia has dipped below 450 as cooler weather and recent rain has cut the fire risk, although another hot spell could wipe out those gains as large sections of the province wilt under severe drought.
Two-thirds of cabinet portfolios have switched hands, with seven rookie ministers coming in to replace the seven ministers who are leaving. Five of the new ministers represent constituencies in Ontario, one is from British Columbia and one from Quebec.
Two new mass-timber courses are slated to begin in the fall at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. In addition, the province is providing 3.3-million-dollars to the school for the creation of a mass-timber training hub at B-C-I-T's Burnaby campus.
Mounties say it happened on Sunday morning at a home on Lalonde Road and that it was a targeted incident. They say surveillance footage shows a dark-coloured, extended cab pickup leaving the home at the time of the shooting.
During the Regular Council Meeting on Monday, Surrey Council voted in favour of a $2.53M contract to build a new Strawberry Hill Community Hall. In 2021, a fire destroyed the historic Strawberry Hill Hall that was currently under construction as part of a $1.2M rehabilitation project that would have seen areas built for childcare and community rentals.
The two suspects forced entry into the victim’s suite near East Hastings and Gore on July 5. They violently beat him and stole his various possessions. The victim was taken to hospital for his injuries. VPD patrol officers and detectives from VPD’s Major Crime Section launched an investigation immediately.