Courtenay, B.C. sees 127% increase in overdoses in 2021
The number of overdoses recorded in B.C. rose by nearly a third last year compared to 2020, and communities on Vancouver Island were not spared the increase.
According to B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), paramedics responded to 35,525 overdoses in 2021, up roughly 31 per cent compared to 2020.
The Island Health region rose about 32 per cent in 2021, with 5,917 overdose calls received, compared to 4,466 reported in 2020, according to the BCEHS.
On Vancouver Island, the City of Courtenay saw one of the largest year-over-year increases in the province.
The BCEHS responded to 467 overdose calls in Courtenay last year, up a staggering 127 per cent compared to the 206 calls reported in 2020.
Campbell River also saw a significant rise in overdose calls to paramedics, with a 62 per cent increase. BCEHS says 403 calls were received in the city in 2021, up from 249 in 2020.
Last year, Victoria saw a 24 per cent increase in calls, with 1,952 potential overdoses reported, up from 1,569 in 2020.
In the Mid-Island, Nanaimo saw a 34 per cent increase, with 891 overdose calls to paramedics, up from 664 in 2020.
One of the few decreases in overdose calls in the province was recorded in Ladysmith, where 33 calls were reported last year, down from 39 in 2020, marking a 15 per cent decrease.
"Almost every community in B.C. had more overdose patients in 2021 than the previous year," said the BCEHS in a release Wednesday.
Every day in 2021, nearly 100 overdoses were reported in British Columbia.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Brokenhearted husband dies after wife slain in Texas rampage
Fourth-grade teacher Irma Garcia was killed in her Texas classroom on Tuesday, massacred along with her co-teacher and 19 students. Two days later, a family member says her brokenhearted husband died.

'Horrifying experience': 10-year-old boy recounts hiding during deadly Texas school shooting
A 10-year-old boy in a classroom just down the hallway from the room where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday said the experience of hiding during the shooting was 'terrifying.'
Trudeau signals new gun-control changes coming; here's what the Liberals have promised
In the wake of a horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signalled that the Canadian government will be moving ahead on new gun-control measures 'in the coming weeks.' In previous Parliaments, the Liberals have made changes to Canada's gun laws, but in the 2021 federal election, Trudeau promised to go further.
Man fatally shot by police near Toronto elementary school after reportedly walking streets with rifle
One man is dead after being shot by police near a Toronto elementary school on Thursday afternoon. The incident sent hundreds of students into lockdown.
Canadian gymnast alleges sexual, emotional abuse by coach
Former Canadian gymnast Abby Pearson Spadafora said on Thursday she had suffered years of abuse at the hands of Olympic coach Dave Brubaker and his wife Elizabeth and called for an independent investigation of the sport.
NRA opens gun convention in Texas after school massacre
The National Rifle Association begins its annual convention in Houston on Friday, and leaders of the powerful gun-rights lobbying group are gearing up to "reflect on" -- and deflect any blame for -- the deadly shooting earlier this week of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Russia accused of inciting genocide in Ukraine in new report
Russia's actions in Ukraine provide enough evidence to conclude that Moscow is inciting genocide and committing atrocities intended to destroy the Ukrainian people, according to the first independent report into allegations of genocide in that country.
Canadian Blood Service seeks to scrap lifetime ban on sex workers donating blood
Canadian Blood Services wants to scrap a lifetime ban on sex workers giving blood in a further move to make blood donation more equitable. The blood-donation service this month recommended to Health Canada that it abolish the lifetime ban on donation by people who have taken money or drugs in exchange for sex.
Russian plane grounded indefinitely at Toronto Pearson racking up huge parking bill
A massive Russian plane that was grounded at Toronto Pearson International Airport back in February is racking up a substantial parking bill.