Film Screening: TOXIC

Join the BC Green Caucus for an important community event, focusing on the illicit-toxic drug crisis - a crisis that has touched every corner of British Columbia. This free event looks at the realities of the overdose crisis, followed by a discussion on solutions. Engage with your community on this pressing issue that impacts us all.

A toxic drug supply is killing Canadians, Americans & people around the world as overdoses become the world’s other public health crisis. The numbers are staggering. 24,626 Opioid deaths in Canada 2016 - 2020 & 100,000 overdose deaths in the US in 2020 alone. It’s an epidemic - fuelled by the powerful synthetic drug Fentanyl.

Set against the cosmopolitan city of Vancouver, with its picturesque mountains & ocean, TOXIC reveals the ugly reality of this west coast metropolis where opioid overdose deaths are reaching record highs.

On the front line, the Vancouver Fire Department, paramedics & a volunteer team called the Street Saviours, work desperately to try & keep people alive.

While ground zero is in the gritty alleys of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the epidemic has exploded in the suburbs throughout British Columbia where many are using & dying alone due to the stigma associated with illegal drug use.

Alex Taylor-McCallum is a Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw & Nuu-Cha-Nulth Artist of various mediums. He is a painter, muralist, lyricist, singer and Hip Hop artist whose work primarily honours his ancestry and family roots. He is also a recovering addict who’s found immense healing in these forms of creative native expression.

He will be speaking and sharing songs which honour those in his Family and community who have passed away due to the effects of drugs and alcohol.

Moderators BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau and Adam Olsen, MLAs for Cowichan Valley and Saanich North and the Islands will engage in an open discussion with panelists and take audience questions.
Robert Colbourne,

Lisa Lapoint, BC Chief Coroner 2011-2024

Guy Felicella, Harm Reduction & Recovery Expert

Leslie McBain, Advocate, Moms Stop the Harm

Corey Ranger, Harm Reduction Nurses Association and Regional Director, Moms Stop the Harm

Host or Publisher BC Green Caucus