The mayor of Kamloops says the loss of a record 50 Kamloopsians to an overdose death this year shows the need for more treatment options across the province.

Ken Christian says he is waiting to have a conversation with the new Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, noting the latest overdose numbers from the BC Coroners Service are appalling.

“We need recovery beds. We need to look at more support on the street and we need to decriminalize the minor possession for personal use. Those are conversations that we urgently need to have with the government,” he said on NL Newsday.

“I think that the faster we get a Mental Health and Addictions Minister in place, that’s going to be a conversation not only myself but other mayors of major urban centres in British Columbia are going to be talking about. This is just unacceptable, it has to stop.”

In 2019, there were 25 suspected overdose deaths in Kamloops, while the old record was 46 set in 2018. Christian calls it a tragic loss of lift and he’s encouraging people who use drugs to never use alone and to have naloxone handy

“Its like playing Russian Roulette to go out there and buy and that’s part of the message that we have about never using alone and those kinds of things,” he added. “Its not just in been in Kamloops. You’ll see that spike in Kelowna, that spike was in Nanaimo and in Prince George. That’s just the reality of the street scene.”

All told, the BC Coroners Service says there were 162 fatal overdoses across the province last month, taking the total for the year to 1,386 people, with two months of the year to go. Only Vancouver (325), Surrey (167), and Victoria (115) have reported more overdose deaths this year than Kamloops.

“We are continuing to see record-breaking numbers of people dying in B.C. due to an unsafe drug supply in our province, and it͛s taking a toll on families and communities in this dual health emergency,” said Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe.