B.C.chief coroner Lisa Lapointe announces retirement

British Columbia's Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe has announced she is retiring after 13 years in her post, many of those spent responding to the increasing number of deaths fromthe toxic drug crisis.

Lapointe said she is deeply saddened the province has been unable to reduce the "tragic impacts"of toxic drugs on thousands of people.

The coroners service has been forever altered by the public health emergency that continues to take the lives of peoplein communities throughout B.C., she said.

Since being declared a public health emergency in 2016, toxic drugs have killed over 13,000,including more than 2,000 people so far this year.

Recommendations by coroners service death-review panels, including providing a safe supply of drugs without prescription, are needed to end the overdose crisis, but Lapointe said she was unable to influence the essential change necessaryto make it happen.

The B.C. government rejected the recommendations last month, minutes before Lapointe was set to deliver a report about them at a news conference.

Lapointe said although investigating deaths is challenging, there is a silver lining to the work coroners do.

"For every tragic loss, the coroner must consider whether there is an opportunity to prevent similar deaths in the future. In this way, the role of the coroner, which may seem a bleak one, provides an opportunity to advance meaningful change,"she said.

Lapointe's third term ends with her retirement on Feb. 18, 2024. She said it's been an honour serving the people of B.C. in various public roles for the past 30 years.

The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General will initiate a recruitment process to choose her successor.