Sidney was a bright, talented, engaging 18 year old general science student at the University of Victoria.
- She died a preventable death -
The systems designed to protect her allowed her to die.
Opioid poisoning is the leading cause of death in our youth in BC. This province has done little to help protect our young people who may occasionally experiment with, or inadvertently be exposed to drugs that are contaminated with deadly fentanyl.
We have written an open letter asking the BC government to do more to stop the deaths:
What you can do to help:
1. ** FOR ALL PROVINCES IN CANADA **
Click the button for the province where you live or where you live or your child goes to school to generate a prewritten email addressed to the Premier and Ministers in your province asking them to mandate measures to protect
youth.
Letter we’ve sent to all Premiers, Education Ministers, Health Ministers and Health Officials in Canada:
Line items to be included in a pre-written email to your Premier:
- MAKE NASAL NALOXONE WIDELY AVAILABLE ACROSS CAMPUSES, PARTICULARLY STUDENT HOUSING. IT IS USELESS IF IT IS ON THE SHELF IN AN OFFICE THAT IS ONLY OPEN DURING OFFICE HOURS.
- MAKE DRUG EDUCATION A MANDATORY PART OF ORIENTATION. STUDENTS NEED TO BE INFORMED OF THE RISKS OF THE TOXIC DRUG SUPPLY, HOW BEST TO STAY SAFE AND HOW TO PREVENT, RECOGNIZE AND TREAT AN OPIOID OVERDOSE.
- DEVELOP MANDATORY OVERDOSE PREVENTION PROTOCOLS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON OUR CAMPUSES.
- MAKE CPR TRAINING AND NALOXONE TRAINING MANDATORY IN HIGH SCHOOLS. EVERY STUDENT DESERVES TO KNOW HOW TO RESPOND TO A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. THE ACT FOUNDATION WILL IMPLEMENT THIS FOR FREE www.ActFoundation.ca
- IMPLEMENT SYSTEMS TO MAKE INFORMATION REGARDING OVERDOSE AND POISONING INCIDENTS CLEARLY AND PROMPTLY AVAILABLE TO ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF ON CAMPUS.
Line items to be included in a pre-written email to BC Premier Eby:
I ask that the BC government make nasal naloxone free and widely available to all British Columbians, – as it has been for more than half of Canadians since 2018. BC has the highest opioid death rate in the country. Ninety percent of all drugs in BC contain deadly fentanyl, and it is killing our young people at an alarming rate.
People in BC dying from opioids range from those dependent on opioids to teenagers and young adults experimenting with drugs for the first time, -taking a pill or a powder they believe to be ecstasy, cocaine, Ativan or study drugs. Until we prevent deadly opioids from entering our communities, people in BC need a safety net. Along with education about the risks of the toxic drug supply, all British Columbians must have free and easy access to nasal naloxone.
Injectable naloxone is prohibitive for most people to use and carry. Nasal naloxone is preloaded, ready to use, and can be carried in a pocket or purse. It is much easier and quicker to use in an emergency.
BC must also mandate CPR education in high schools…. Our students deserve to learn this basic life-saving skill to help protect those around them during a medical emergency.
With our opioid death rate, we should be leading the country with both these safety measure, not trailing behind.
Let your Premier know that they need to do more to protect young people in your province from deadly fentanyl and other drugs that are flooding this country.
2. Follow SidneyShouldBeHere on Instagram and Facebook.
This will help propagate this message, show the government support of these initiatives, and allow us to keep you updated with any progress that we make.
CLICK THE LINKS to follow:
— CLICK ONE or BOTH OF THESE SOCIAL MEDIA BUTTONS —
3. Reach out to other BC government officials:
Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills: Lisa Beare
Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions: Jennifer Whiteside
If you are in BC, CC your MLA on emails sent to these officials.
This link gets you to a page where you can find your BC MLA.
Provincial Health Officer: Bonnie Henry
BC has made progress towards improving safety for post-secondary education students in their province. Please see their published guidelines:
Overdose Prevention and Response: Guidelines for B.C.’s Post-Secondary Sector
In June of 2024, UVic officials conducted meetings of the Senate and of the Board of Governors. We contacted these bodies prior to their meetings to advise of the deaths on campus and how they were being handled. The university president speaking at the meeting of the senate delivered false information to the meeting attendees. We provided corrections to this information, and we asked the university and the president to correct these false statements. Listed just below are the interactions we had with the university:
View Letter submitted to UVic President, Senate, Board of Governors
June 4, 2024
Do you have an opinion about how UVic handled this?
Visit this page to read more about it and send them an email
Vancouver Sun article: Fentanyl poisoning on UVic campus
May 16, 2024
There is an opioid crisis in BC and Canada
We must do more to stop our young from dying.
Sidney should be here.
Explore these important initiatives:
Sidney should be here.
On January 23, 2024, University of Victoria campus security responded to Sidney with enough time to save her.
They were trained in CPR and carried nasal naloxone.
Instead of acting right away, they waited 9 minutes before giving naloxone, and 12 minutes to start CPR. The 911 operator took 3.5 minutes just to figure out a location on campus before she even asked what was going on.
If this is what can happen with 911 and campus security, a university can turn into a death trap for your student if they suffer a life threatening emergency while on campus.
Contact us
FAQs
I’m sorry to hear about your tragic loss. I want to thank you for your efforts to make a difference…
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I’m so sorry to read about the tragic loss of your daughter Sidney, it’s so heartbreaking. And thank-you for creating…
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