B.C. mother to run across province, hold rallies on overdose crisis after son's death
A Victoria woman whose son died of a toxic drug overdose last year will be running across the province this spring calling for a faster response from the province and to connect local community members with resources.
After Jessica Michalofsky’s son, Aubrey, died last year, the island mom decided to run daily marathons around the B.C. Ministry of Health building in Victoria to call on the province to regulate the illicit drug supply and providing more resources and education to families.
Michalofsky ended up running more than 900 kilometres around the building through a series of marathons, and now she plans on running from Nelson, B.C., back to Victoria this spring.
Along the way, Michalofsky and other advocates plan on making stops in small communities to hold rallies and raise awareness about the crisis, particularly in rural communities which often lack access to crucial services, according to the Victoria woman.
"Our message is that toxic drug death is preventable. Our rallies will connect people to resources and raise awareness among families about the danger of toxic drugs," she said in a release Tuesday.
Michalofsky says that while her earlier marathons around the ministry of health building were directed at the provincial government, her upcoming run will be about connecting with community members, like people who use drugs, young people and their families.
"To battle systemic stigma, we need access to information, and we need to band together," she said. "If the government is slow to act, we will step in and help ourselves."
In 2022, B.C. recorded 2,272 illicit drug deaths, averaging more than six deaths per day.
Of that total, people aged 30 to 59 represented 70 per cent.
"I am so sorry – their lives mattered, and their deaths are our collective loss," said B.C. chief coroner Lisa Lapointe on Jan. 31.
"Drug toxicity remains the leading cause of unnatural deaths in B.C., significantly surpassing the number of fatalities linked to self-harm, motor vehicle accidents and homicide combined."
Michalofsky is planning the "Aubrey’s Run across BC to End Toxic Drug" for May and June of this year.
With files form CTV News Vancouver's Becca Clarkson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Vancouver quietly proclaimed Chip Wilson Day as billionaire installed sign calling B.C. NDP 'communist'
On the same day Chip Wilson erected a controversial sign at his Vancouver mansion, the city was quietly honouring the billionaire and his wife.
Danielle Smith facing leadership review Saturday to close out UCP convention
Some 6,000 United Conservative Party members are in Red Deer for the party's annual convention and will cast their votes today on what they think of Premier Danielle Smith's leadership so far.
Local sheriff asks FBI to investigate death of Black man found hanging in Alabama
The FBI is investigating the death of a Black man in Alabama, who was found hanging in an abandoned house, following a request from a local sheriff amid fears among community members who accuse local law enforcement of longstanding, unchecked misconduct.
India trashes Canada for linking home minister to Sikh activist plot
India officially protested on Saturday the Canadian government's allegation that the country's powerful home minister Amit Shah had ordered the targeting of Sikh activists inside Canada, calling it 'absurd and baseless.'
The impact of Trump's lies in Springfield, Ohio
Springfield, Ohio was once a manufacturing hub. Now, people know it for Trump's comments at September's presidential debate, when he famously - and falsely - told an audience of 67 million people that Haitians eat their pets, echoing claims that had circulated on social media.
Florida's convicted killer clown released from prison for the murder of her husband's then-wife
A woman who pleaded guilty to dressing as a clown and in 1990 murdering the wife of a man she later married was released from prison on Saturday.
Man says it's 'surreal' that officials euthanized pet squirrel Peanut
A man who took in an orphaned squirrel and made it a social media star vowed Saturday that New York state's decision to seize and euthanize the animal 'won't go unheard.'
Israeli forces capture senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon, Israeli military official says
Israeli naval forces captured a senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon, an Israeli military official said Saturday.
Americans in Canada cast ballot ahead of U.S. election
Stephen Winters says watching the U.S. election campaign from Canada as a dual citizen is like a parent watching their kid play sports.