University student’s overdose death prompts coroner’s inquest, policy changes

Good morning, 

Nate with you today. It seems June-uary has come early this year, with glum weather forecasted for the next 10 days or so. 

Personally, I’ll be enjoying it while it lasts before settling into the heat of summer. While the beach days are on hold for the moment, a rainy day is great for a hike or walk in the woods. The cool days are also an ideal time to plant a garden plot (as long as it’s not too wet). 

Maybe it’s mostly due to emerging from the hockey-following haze, but I feel like – coming off the long weekend – this upcoming week or so is a good time for a reset; getting back into habits and routines, and planning for the bustle of summer. 

In that sense, enjoy the rain! 

Now, let’s get to news and events from around the region. 

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

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Friday: 15 🌡️ 9 | 🌧️

OPIOID CRISIS

University student’s overdose death prompts coroner’s inquest, policy changes

What happened: An 18-year-old student died from fentanyl poisoning in a University of Victoria dorm room early this year. The family of Sidney McIntyre-Starko say her death was preventable, and was due in part to systemic failings in the B.C. schools, such as a lack of accessible nasal naloxone kits, and education about the toxic nature of the province’s drug supply.

Naloxone accessibility: The availability of naloxone kits – a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose – at universities differs depending on the institution. 

• At UVic and BCIT’s Burnaby Campus you can get them from the student wellness centres, which have limited hours. UBC and Carleton University in Ottawa have boxes with easy-to-use nasal naloxone spread across campus and in residences, according to the Vancouver Sun. 

The delivery mechanism, through injection or nasal spray, can also differ, with injection kits being less intuitive to inexperienced drug users, the family pointed out. 

Government response: Premier David Eby recently announced a coroner’s inquest into the death of McIntyre-Starko, and the NDP government is promising change.

• “We are in discussions to purchase nasal naloxone in larger quantities, which is easier to administer, and we are working on adding CPR training as a mandatory lesson in high schools,” Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside said in a statement on Monday, according to Global. 

Newly-appointed Minister of Post-Secondary Education Lisa Beare said on Tuesday that she had convened B.C.’s 25 public post-secondary institutions that day to discuss student safety. 

• That group has agreed to adopt distribution and training standards for the use of naloxone, among other overdose prevention measures, in time for the fall 2024 semester, according to the Globe and Mail. 

“This is an absolutely horrific situation for Sidney’s family, for her friends. The timeline of events is profoundly disturbing… There are serious questions that need to be answered about this horrific death,” Eby said during question period last Thursday. 

An enduring crisis: Over 14,000 people have died from unregulated drug deaths since 2016, according to provincial data. In the same time period it’s become the leading cause — by far — of unnatural deaths in B.C. 

April 2024 marked the eighth anniversary of B.C. declaring a public-health emergency due to toxic drugs. 

Timeline: In a recent open letter, McIntyre-Starko’s mother — a doctor of 25 years who works in the emergency department at VGH — outlined the detailed circumstances of her daughter’s death: 

Witnesses heard two students collapse and immediately called campus security — as UVic advises students on their website to do in case of an emergency. Campus security never contacted 911, according to the family. 

Campus security arrived at the dormitory in three and a half minutes, but waited another five and a half minutes to administer naloxone, and began CPR three minutes after that, according to the letter.

By the time the fire department arrived 15 minutes later, “Sidney was in full cardiac arrest and only her organs could be saved,” Caroline McIntyre wrote. 

The other student survived after being treated with naloxone. 

• “If you can get to someone within those first … six or seven minutes and give them the (naloxone) drug, they can have 100 per cent survival almost. It’s a very high success rate… but time is really important,” Dr. Andrew Campbell, an emergency physician, told the Vancouver Sun.  

Yes, but: UVic disputes this timeline, saying the first aid response was five minutes faster than the family’s timeline alleges, according to the Sun. 

The university said it welcomed the inquest as "an opportunity to improve how post-secondary institutions, and beyond, respond to the opioid crisis," according to CBC.

Family’s recommendations: McIntrye, the victim’s mother, outlined seven steps to protect students from preventable overdose deaths. The steps outlined in the letter broadly fall into two categories: 

• Firstly, mandating information and skills training in schools regarding the toxic drug supply and the use of naloxone. Second, review and increase oversight on school medical services and policies — in particular the advice students are given to call campus security in an emergency, as students did in this case. 

The provincial government's recent actions appear to address several of these steps, in addition to the coroner’s inquest into McIntyre-Starko’s death, which the family asked for as well. 

“Fentanyl may have killed our daughter, but the response by the University of Victoria and the province’s lack of harm reduction strategies targeted to this population allowed her to die,” Caroline McIntyre wrote. 

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VANCOUVER NUMBERS

📉 2.7%: The national inflation rate last month fell to this much compared to April of 2023, dropping from 2.9% in March. Grocery inflation slowed to 1.4% year over year. [Reuters]

💸 $10-15k: The amount a Canucks “superfan” spent to attend all 13 playoff games, both home and away. [Global]

CITY STREETS

Gastown shops lose out on business during road work for pilot project

What happened: Gastown businesses and their advocates are speaking out about lost revenues (between 20% - 50% according to the Gastown BIA), which they say are due to roadwork in the neighbourhood.

• The roadwork is expected to last just over three months, wrapping up in mid-June.

A BIA spokesperson said they’re estimating businesses are collectively losing about half a million dollars a week, according to Global.  

The City of Vancouver said they’ve added “businesses are open” signage to mitigate the impact of construction. 

Car-free initiative: The roadwork and construction in Maple Tree Square are part of the city’s preparations to create a car-free pilot project on Water Street in July and August. 

Earlier this month, city council voted to waive patio fees for businesses in the pilot area, and contribute $20,000 towards the Gastown BIA’s free parking initiative. 

• The pilot includes car-free areas in Maple Tree Square and on Water St. between Richards and Cambie. The two areas will be connected by a set of “car-light” blocks along Water St. 

Previously, city staff had said at least 27 restaurants and 16 retailers in the pilot area had expressed interest in creating new or expanded patios and merchandise displays, according to Daily Hive Urbanized.  

Businesses will be eyeing their bottom lines over the course of the pilot, Gastown BIA executive director Walley Wargolet told CBC. 

• “If [we don’t have bottom lines increasing in the neighbourhood], then the project will be failed and we will ask the city to shut it down,” Wargolet said. 

Yes, but: While the profitability of local businesses is a key part of a successful, safe, and thriving neighbourhood, it is only one measure by which to measure the successfulness of road-use changes. 

• As for the neighbourhood residents, the city reported many were excited about an enhanced pedestrian zone. 

In the city’s public consultation on the project, people identified vehicle congestion, lack of active transportation networks, and conditions of streets and sidewalks, as the main barriers from using their preferred method of transit in Gastown. 

• As is typical with public consultations, concerns ran the gamut; from increased noise, growing homelessness, and drug use, to patios encroaching too much on public space and apprehensions about investments in the area displacing low-income residents. 

HOME OF THE WEEK

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It sold for a little over 200k in 1990. But today, as you might expect, it’ll cost you an arm and maybe a leg too.

House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labeled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team. 

THE AGENDA

💔 Sad days for Vancouver hockey fans, as the Canucks were eliminated from the playoffs at home on Monday night. Fortunately, fans generally seemed to behave themselves in the aftermath. In fact, J.T. Miller and Conor Garland commented how the fans’ positive energy in the building, even after the loss, made them emotional. “When you see that, you know you’re in a good place and a good market,” Miller said post-game. [Daily Hive]

🧑‍🌾 B.C. farmers are increasingly facing threats in the form of high interest rates, inflation, and climate disasters. The industry is in “despair,” one local leader said. Between 2016 and 2021, B.C. lost farms at five times the rate of the rest of the country. [Vancouver Sun]

🔪 Notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton is in critical condition after being attacked in a Quebec jail over the weekend. Pickton was taken to hospital for treatment, and is “between life and death,” according to Radio-Canada sources. [CBC]

🧑‍🚒 A small fire broke out in a West End apartment building on Monday morning. No one was hurt and most of the damage was contained to one unit, firefighters said. Two residents have had to leave their homes. [Global]

⛺ Residents and advocates marked the third anniversary of the CRAB Park tent encampment on Monday. Formerly home to over 100 people, the encampment is now down to 10 residents, said Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon. Some of the current residents have yet to be offered permanent housing and would rather live in the park than an SRO, according to interviews with Global News. [Global]   

🛥️ Boaters in B.C. are facing new requirements around draining and drying their boats in an effort to combat whirling disease, which is highly lethal to fish but poses no health risk to humans. The first case of whirling disease in B.C. was confirmed in late 2023. [The Globe and Mail]

🏗️ A huge redevelopment of the current Richmond Night Market site on Duck Island is afoot, with Richmond city council rezoning the site earlier this month. The developer, who’s owned the site since 2011, is proposing a “tourist and entertainment destination,” with five-star hotels, shopping, a marina, and a conference centre. The Night Market could stay on as a tenant, according to the developer. [Vancouver Sun]

🔥 B.C. needs to take a “whole-of-society” approach to combatting wildfires, according to a recent report. This includes the need for a provincial wildfire strategy that assigns roles for each government ministry, while empowering local communities, First Nations, the forestry industry to mitigate out-of-control fires. B.C. spent close to $1 billion on wildfire suppression in 2023. [Globe and Mail]

⚽ The Vancouver Whitecaps beat Calgary-based Calvary FC last night, advancing to the semi-final round in their quest for a third consecutive Canadian Championship. The Whitecaps’ next MLS game is on Saturday when they host Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. [Whitecaps]

MEME OF THE DAY

How we feeling about this one?

Theatre

The interdisciplinary rEvolver Festival opens tonight at the Cultch and runs until June 2. Featuring an eclectic lineup of genre-busting shows, the 12th annual festival of unconventional live performances is sure to keep you on your toes. [Upintheair Theatre]

Music

The Sound of Dragon Music Festival, at the Annex from May 23 to 26, fosters intercultural collaboration across the Asian musical landscape. [Stir] 

Movies 

Catch the Motorcycle Film Festival this Friday at the Rio Theatre, as they present a fresh lineup of throttle-twisting films. Show starts at 7pm. [Rio]

VIFF is playing a couple of films this week under their Asian Heritage Month banner. You can see the 2002 film “July Rhapsody” all week (on weekdays) at the VIFF Centre, or catch last year’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” tonight. [VIFF]

Art

The Polygon Gallery in North Van is currently showing “Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot’s Russia,” the first survey exhibition of the Russian feminist art collective. Check it out Wednesday-Sunday between 10 am and 5 pm, now until June 2. [Polygon]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Magnetic changes from the solar storm that lit up the night sky across North America earlier this month were recorded in the ocean, going as deep as 25 meters off the coast of Vancouver Island. [Global]  

• Strathcona’s Union Market, closed since October 2023, is coming back under new ownership. [Vancouver Is Awesome]

• Does your dog appreciate canine-themed comedy? Mine doesn’t, but if yours does then check out “Big Dog Energy” — a comedy show for pups and their pals. [Georgia Straight]

• Vancouver bakery chain Small Victory is closing their original shop in Yaletown. But never fear… if you’re looking for an expensive almond croissant, they’ll be opening a new location in nearby Marinaside this fall. 

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GAME TIME

Today’s Vancouver Guesser is nearby a beloved market and cafe. Can you guess the nearest cross streets?

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