BC crisis

There was a record number of drug overdose deaths in BC last year and the provincial government wants Ottawa to help with the crisis.

914 people died of overdoses from illicit drugs up nearly 80 per cent from the year before.

Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe called the arrival of fentanyl on the streets a game-changer.

Provincial Health Minister Terry Lake says it’s not just a provincial problem, and Ottawa should declare a national public health emergency.

Health care deal comments

The head of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Louise Bradley; is applauding some provinces which have signed individual health funding announcements with the federal government.

Saskatchewan is the latest to sign a separate agreement.

Louise Bradley says people are dying while other jurisdictions hold out for a better deal.

Those holdouts are the big three, Ontario; Quebec, and B-C.