BURSTApproximately 30 people gathered at the George Little Park bandstand the afternoon of April 14, 2026 to mark the tenth anniversary of the provincial government’s declaration of a toxic drug crisis.
Organizers at first planned a much larger gathering but postponed that until April 30, 2026 in view of a death this past weekend in Kitselas.
Some of those who gathered honoured friends and relatives who have died from addictions by holding large photographs of them and speaking of individual and collective grief.
Ella Williams, who came from Gitsegukla, the Gitxsan community alongside Hwy 16, 113 kilometres east of Terrace, spoke of losing son Shane Howard and nephew Patrick Williams to narcotics addiction.
She nursed Shane in her home before he died, she told the group.
On the streets of Terrace, Prince Rupert, and other northwestern communities, she said Shane was known as ‘Chowie’ because his favourite meal was chicken chow mein. Patrick’s nickname was Tiger.
The gathering was informally hosted by Billy Morrow, a Nisga’a Valley Health Authority worker, who began by drumming and singing a warrior song.
Morrow briefly recounted his own struggle with addiction, one that began by taking his first drink at the age of 8.
He said he has lost a brother and a nephew to accidental overdoses.
He reminded the gathering that those who use narcotics are not necessarily street people, recounting a friend of his who was a skilled worker travelling throughout North America but who then used fentanyl whenever he returned home.
“We have to find a better way to help our loved ones,” said Morrow. “Treatment is great, but you can’t repair a lifetime of trauma in three months.”
Morrow advocated for a regulated and safe supply of narcotics in much the same way the state now regulates the sale of alcohol.
“It’s not even fentanyl that’s a problem anymore. It’s the sedatives now,” he said of narcotics now circulating in B.C.
“There’s so much more that we could be doing today, but it’s not the popular way to go,” Morrow added. “We have to understand people are going to use substances whether we like it or not.”
“I truly believe the only way we’re going to get in front of this is by having a safe regulated supply for our loved ones who are living out of their trauma, to give them the opportunity to make that decision of what their future is going to look like, whether they’re going to continue their walk with substances or not,” Morrow said.
The event in George Little Park was one of more than a dozen held across B.C. on April 14.
The group marked the decade of the toxic drug crisis declaration at 2 p.m. with a moment of silence.
It was to be followed by a moment of rage, but Morrow called for a moment of grief instead.
“The rage comes from the grief inside,” he said.