Trail city council isn’t satisfied with the answer it received about what the provincial government is doing to implement the recommendations of a report to prevent toxic drug deaths.
So they’re going to ask again.
Council met with Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside at the recent Union of BC Municipalities convention in Vancouver, where they asked about securing funding to improve support service in the Kootenays.
Councillor Nick Cashol said the minister recognized the need for a regional approach to treatment and to identify gaps in service, particularly between detox in treatment. He told the minister and her staff a five-day detox program exists in Castlegar but there is no long-term treatment centre in the West Kootenay.
Cashol also pointed to a March 2022 report by a BC Coroners Service review panel that looked at toxic drug deaths in BC and made three main recommendations: help provide a safer supply, develop a drug toxicity action plan, and provide a continuum of care for substance abuse.
Cashol said just prior to the conference he heard an interview with chief coroner Lisa Lapointe where she expressed frustration the recommendations were not being addressed and urged the ministry and local health authorities to deal with the drug crisis.
Cashol said he asked Whiteside what was being done to implement the report and the minister mentioned a program at St. Paul’s hospital in Vancouver that addresses the continuum of care piece.
However, Cashol said he’d like a more fulsome response. “Her reply was vague and I don’t think it answered what’s going on in a provincial strategy,” he said.
Council agreed to write a follow-up letter to the ministry seeking further clarification.
