Substance use has plagued the trades for a long time. It’s now more serious than ever.
David Hogben | 24 Jun 2021 | TheTyee.ca
Five years after British Columbia’s opioid overdose crisis was declared a public health emergency, there is little reason to celebrate.
“Five years? That makes me want to cry right there,” said Jud Martell, co-ordinator of the Sheet Metal Workers Training Centre, noting the construction industry has been hit particularly hard by the crisis. “How did we get five years into this thing?”
Since 2016, 7,000 people have died as a result of the toxic drug epidemic in B.C. The deadliest year so far was 2020, with 1,726 fatalities.