By Brenna Owen The top doctor at British Columbia’s First Nations Health Authority says deaths from toxic drugs may have dipped, but now is not the time to pull back on life-saving measures, especially given “misinformation” in the public discourse. Dr. Nel Wieman says Indigenous Peoples continue to be disproportionately represented among the deaths as B.C. marks the ninth anniversary of the toxic drug crisis being declared a public health emergency. She says her team is pushing B.C.’s Health Ministry to help find a tailored approach for Indigenous-specific issues to prevent more people from dying and close the gap with the non-Indigenous population. Wieman presented data showing 427 Indigenous people in B.C. died of a toxic drug overdose last year, representing a 6.8 per cent decrease from 2023. However, she…
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