800 Parents for the Establishment of Supervised Injection Services Across BC

  • by: Yes2SCS
  • recipient: Dr. Perry Kendall- Chief Medical Officer of BC, Dr. Terry Lake- Provincial Minister of Health

On April 14th of this year, the Province of British Columbia declared a Public Health Emergency as a result of the startling rise in overdose deaths during the first three months of 2016. In 2015 480 people died from preventable overdose in BC. The provincial government estimates that this year 600 to 800 will die from overdose.While we applaud the provincial government for taking this step to call a public health emergency, we the undersigned believe we have at our disposal evidence based and effective interventions that can address this tragic health emergency.

As stated by Dr. Perry Kendall, BC Provincial Public Health Officer, in 2011 when commenting on motor vehicle accidents (currently with a reported fatality rate of 6.2 per 100,000 people, as opposed to 9.9 per 100,000 for overdose deaths): “Any preventable death or serious injury is unacceptable.” We wholeheartedly agree. Bad drug warnings, education and prevention campaigns are a good first step but are not a substitute for medically sound and humane interventions that have proven, time and time again, to save lives.

There is much that can be done to improve access to health care for people who use drugs, both in rural and urban settings. One such health care intervention is the establishment of Supervised Injection Services (SIS). While we recognize that there is much to be done in BC with regards to increasing access to treatment options, opioid substitution therapies, and the setting of provincial standards of care for people who use drugs, we believe the establishment of SIS is an essential response to this public health emergency and a step towards ending preventable overdose death.

We the undersigned are parents, caregivers, and guardians of people who use drugs. Some of us have lost our children unnecessarily to preventable overdose death and some of us fear the loss of our children daily because of the inaction of health authorities and provincial and federal health ministers to properly respond to this public health emergency. We do not want our children or anyone's child to be one of 800 estimated fatalities projected to occur on 2016 from preventable overdose. We demand to see Supervised Injection Services widely established across the province of BC because no one can access treatment if they are dead.

On April 14th of this year, the Province of British Columbia declared a Public Health Emergency as a result of the startling rise in overdose deaths during the first three months of 2016. In 2015 480 people died from preventable overdose in BC. The provincial government estimates that this year 600 to 800 will die from overdose.While we applaud the provincial government for taking this step to call a public health emergency, we the undersigned believe we have at our disposal evidence based and effective interventions that can address this tragic health emergency.


As stated by Dr. Perry Kendall, BC Provincial Public Health Officer, in 2011 when commenting on motor vehicle accidents (currently with a reported fatality rate of 6.2 per 100,000 people, as opposed to 9.9 per 100,000 for overdose deaths): “Any preventable death or serious injury is unacceptable.” We wholeheartedly agree. Bad drug warnings, education and prevention campaigns are a good first step but are not a substitute for medically sound and humane interventions that have proven, time and time again, to save lives.


There is much that can be done to improve access to health care for people who use drugs, both in rural and urban settings. One such health care intervention is the establishment of Supervised Injection Services (SIS). While we recognize that there is much to be done in BC with regards to increasing access to treatment options, opioid substitution therapies, and the setting of provincial standards of care for people who use drugs, we believe the establishment of SIS is an essential response to this public health emergency and a step towards ending preventable overdose death.


We the undersigned are parents, caregivers, and guardians of people who use drugs. Some of us have lost our children unnecessarily to preventable overdose death and some of us fear the loss of our children daily because of the inaction of health authorities and provincial and federal health ministers to properly respond to this public health emergency. We do not want our children or anyone's child to be one of 800 estimated fatalities projected to occur on 2016 from preventable overdose. We demand to see Supervised Injection Services widely established across the province of BC because no one can access treatment if they are dead.

Sign Petition
Sign Petition
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

Privacy Policy

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.