Drug overdose deaths are down by 24 per cent between April last year and this April, but still B-C’s Coroner says 182 people died.
Fentanyl remains the primary killer, with the drug detected in 82 per cent of test results for those who died so far this year.
The coroner’s service says nearly half of those who overdosed were between the ages of 30 and 49.
The latest figures lift the number of deaths since the public health emergency was declared eight years ago to 14-thousand 582 people.
B-C's police watchdog has been called to investigate the death of a man who police say was threatening staff at Abbotsford Regional Hospital with a weapon. Police in the Fraser Valley city say officers responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting a man in possession of a weapon at the hospital yesterday afternoon.
Unemployment is trending upward across much of Canada, but B-C's government says the provincial labour force remains steady. Jobs Minister Brenda Bailey says Statistics Canada labour force survey shows B.C. gained nine thousand jobs last month.
Mounties in B.C.'s southern Interior say they're investigating a multi-vehicle crash that killed one person who's been identified as a university student. A statement from Kamloops RCMP says emergency responders were called to the crash at the intersection of McGill Road and University Drive just outside the Thompson Rivers University campus around 3 p.m. Thursday.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says flu season is officially underway in this country. The rate of tests that were positive for flu stayed above the agency's threshold of five per cent for two consecutive weeks.
A bulletin has been issued warning residents in south western British Columbia to prepare for an atmospheric river bearing down on the area. The statement from the Ministry of Emergency Management says Environment Canada is forecasting a series of storms bringing heavy rain until Thursday, with a peak expected on Tuesday.
Police in Vancouver say they're investigating how a man mysteriously fell ill from fentanyl poisoning following a brief encounter with a stranger last week. They say in a statement that investigators are focused on how the 56-year-old man, who does not use drugs, was exposed to the powerful opioid, and whether the incident involved a criminal offence.