Trades workers most impacted by toxic drug crisis

“Everyone’s son, everyone’s daughter, that has passed away was a life. We take care of our animals better than we take care of our most vulnerable people,” she continued.

Moms Stop the Harm says the stigma or belief around people who die to toxic drug poisonings are harmful towards solving the crisis of all the lives lost, as it stifles conversations and prevents education. The latest statistics from the province back this claim up, as it shows that workers in trade are unfortunately disproportionately impacted, with 21% of the total provincial deaths coming from trades workers. It’s an issue that B.C.’s Labour Critic Kiel Giddens says needs to be addressed immediately.

“This is something that we’ve known for quite some time, but now we’re seeing real evidence from the coroner. We need to support all families, including working people, to make sure that they’re not falling victim to this toxic crisis,” Giddens said.

“Supporting those in the trades and our working people in this province is something that we’re calling out to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to make sure working people are safe, that they’re working safe, they’re being safe, and they know that there’s help when they need it,” he continued.

It’s an issue Giddens says is prominent in Prince George.

Prince George is an industry town. We have people who power our mills, we have people who are delivering logs to our sawmills. We have construction workers working across the region. This is a huge issue for Prince George, and that’s why we want to make sure workers are safe, are protected, that they have the help they need here in Prince George, let alone the rest of the province,” he said.

As of June, 2025, Prince George has seen 23 deaths due to toxic drug poisoning. If this is extrapolated for the entire year, it would be a significant drop from the 110 deaths in 2024. Michelle Miller of Moms Stop the Harm and Broken Hearts of Fentanyl says part of the drop is because of the unfortunate reality that we have lost so many already, but there is also the factor of the public being more educated and aware of the issue.

“We’ve been working really hard as a group for the last six years and raising awareness with Positive Living North, and other agencies like Carrier Sekani, the Native Friendship Centre, and it’s helping the crisis,” Miller said.

“I’ve seen what has gone on in my family’s drug journey and how we were treated, by the police and MCFD, and things have changed now, people are talking more openly about it,” she continued.

Even though a drop in deaths is a likely indicator of addressing the crisis, Miller says there are still far too many succumbing to toxic drugs. Provincially, May and June saw close to five people die every day.

“We’re out there every day trying our hardest to make people aware. People at home need to be aware that their kids are at risk, their young teenage kids in high school, even elementary school, are at risk of overdose and poisoning. There’s fake mollies out there, fake Xanax bars out there,” she said.

As the month continues, Moms Stop the Harm and the Broken Hearts of Fentanyl will continue doing what they can to educate and inform the public of the dangers of substance use, which includes future events like a prescription take-back day on August 28.

Local news. Delivered. Free. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get our top local stories delivered to your inbox every evening.

by Tommy Osborne

Trades workers most impacted by toxic drug crisis

What's Trending