Delta city council has approved a plan to equip bylaw officers and recreation facilities with Naloxone kits in its efforts to help combat the toxic drug crisis.
Councillors voted in favour of a staff recommendation to that effect at their Monday, Dec. 2 meeting.
Naloxone is a drug used to counteract the effects of opioid overdose. It comes in injectable and nasal spray forms; the Delta plan is to provide the nasal spray as a "lower barrier" solution to respond to an overdose event. The nasal Naloxone kits will be available at Delta City Hall, North Delta Recreation Centre, Sungod Recreation Centre, Ladner Leisure Centre, South Delta Recreation Centre and Winskill Aquatic & Fitness Centre. Each of the city's 13 bylaw cars will also be equipped with a kit as part of a two-year pilot project.
The city estimates the cost of the pilot project, which is scheduled to start in early 2025, at about $5,000.
City staff will report back to council about the effectiveness of the project in the fall of 2025, a staff report notes.
"The overdose and drug toxicity crisis has claimed thousands of lives in British Columbia," said the report from director of corporate services Mike Brotherston. "No community in the province is immune to this public health emergency, including Delta. The city has a long history of actively supporting and leading community initiatives and advocacy efforts to offset devastating impacts of the overdose and drug toxicity crisis on our community."
Delta city staff will also work with the Delta Community Action Team — a community-led team chaired by Fraser Health and Deltassist that includes peers with lived experience of substance use — on a city-wide campaign in April 2025 in conjunction with the National Day of Action on the Overdose Crisis to raise awareness about the overdose and drug toxicity crisis and the available community resources.
The move follows a presentation from Delta Community Action Team to council in September, asking for the city's help to address the toxic drug crisis in Delta. A full progress report on the city's efforts can be found in a Delta staff report to council from the Dec. 2 meeting.
