BC Coroners Service

• B.C. drug deaths fall to lowest since 2020, but toll remains high with 2,253 lives lost

  The coroners service said the number of deaths was a 13-per cent drop over 2023, but it remains well above the 1,776 fatalities reported in 2020. 

  Health

  Feb 4
  
• Data shows ‘significant decline’ in B.C. drug deaths

  B.C. has recorded its lowest monthly number of drug deaths in more than four years, part of what the BC Coroners Service says is a "significant decline" in fatalities this year.

  Dec 9, 2024
  
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• B.C. drug deaths down again in July, but death toll remains grim

  Chief coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan says the current rate equates to about 6.2 people dying every day in the province from the drug toxicity crisis.

  Health

  Aug 30, 2024
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• B.C. announces appointment of new chief coroner

  The British Columbia government has appointed Dr. Jatinder Baidwan as the province's new chief coroner following the retirement of Lisa Lapointe earlier this year.

  Health

  Aug 8, 2024
• Inquest into fatal Surrey hostage-taking recommends cameras for ERTs

  The recommendation is one of seven to come following the inquest into the deaths of Randy Crosson and Nona McEwan in March 2019 in Surrey, B.C.

  Canada

  Apr 25, 2024
• B.C. drug deaths down in February but top 175 for 20th consecutive month

  The BC Coroners Service says 177 people died in February due to "toxic, unregulated drugs."

  Health

  Apr 5, 2024
• More than 2,500 people died of toxic drugs in B.C. in 2023, driven by fentanyl

  Unless British Columbia meaningfully expands its safer supply model, it will continue to "count the dead" from toxic unregulated drugs, said Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe.

  Health

  Jan 24, 2024
• Number of unhoused deaths in Kelowna, Vernon rising in tandem with provincial figures

  New information from the BC Coroner's Service is highlighting the rising number of deaths among this province's unhoused population, and it's not just urban centres suffering.

  Canada

  Dec 14, 2023
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• Death toll among B.C.’s unhoused rising, hitting 342 people in 2022: Coroner

  A statement from the coroners service says the deaths of 342 people experiencing homelessness were reported last year, an increase of almost 140 over the past two years.

  Health

  Dec 14, 2023
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• ‘An honour to serve’: B.C.’s chief coroner to retire in February

  Lisa Lapointe has become a familiar face to many in the province's response to the toxic drug crisis that has claimed more than 13,000 lives since 2016.

  Canada

  Dec 6, 2023