Terry Lake as BC Minister of Health 2016

By Michael Reeve

DRUG CRISIS

Eight years after declaring public health crisis, Terry Lake sees a shifting public perception

Apr 15, 2024 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — More than 14,000 British Columbians have died in the eight years since the province declared a public health emergency due to the toxic supply of illicit drugs. Since the crisis was declared on April 14, 2016, the number of deaths in the province has steadily increased in every year except for 2019.

Since 2016, the Kamloops area has recorded 485 deaths from illicit drugs, with that number reaching a high of 92 deaths back in 2022. For the health minister who was in charge in 2016, he’s witnessed a changing perception of the general public as the issue, including increased public drug use has spilled out across communities.

“(People) can’t support these policies much longer. And that is not a lack of compassion or a lack of caring about people,” Terry Lake told CFJC Today Monday (Apr. 15). “People are willing to invest their tax dollars to making the situation better for everybody, but we don’t have the balance right.”

“We need to not make people feel ashamed for feeling this way. And I see that from our public health officer (Dr. Bonnie Henry), making people feel guilty that they want their playgrounds back, that they want their public spaces back, and that is when you start to lose people,” added Lake.

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While Lake said the war on drugs was not successful, he feels the move in the other direction has also not led to the desired results.

“We will never solve the problem completely. The goal is you keep it to a certain level so it impacts fewer people and the quality of life for everybody can be enjoyed,” said Lake. “Right now, that is not happening and that is why I think we need a different approach.”

Lake helped establish overdose prevention sites to help keep people alive, but stated much more hasn’t been done on the harm reduction side. He said the province needs to get back to a proper ‘four pillar’ approach to care, something he believes has been lacking.

“Not rely totally on harm reduction, we need to have much more treatment available, but we need education and the fourth pillar is enforcement. And with decriminalization, there is no enforcement,” said Lake.