Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond has been appointed to a provincial health committee tasked with reviewing the overdose crisis.
According to a release, the all party Select Standing Committee on Health will review mental health and addictions supports and examine the urgent and ongoing illicit drug toxicity and overdose crisis.
The committee has been tasked to review patterns of use, the drug market, the role of organized crime, as well as the increase in toxicity coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Preliminary data released by the BC Coroners Service shows that nine people in Prince George died from illicit drug overdoses or toxic drug poisoning in January of this year. In 2021, the city saw a total of 55 drug deaths.
The BC Coroners Service says January was the fourth consecutive month in which more than 200 lives were lost to illicit drugs in the province.
The health committee is being chaired by NDP MLA Niki Sharma (Vancouver-Hastings) and also includes Peace River North MLA Dan Davies, Green leader Sonia Furstenau, and MLAs Susie Chant, Pam Alexis, Trevor Halford, Doug Routley, Harwinder Sandhu, and Mike Starchuk.
