Coquitlam’s Lafarge Lake will be awash in purple on Monday, April 14.
The walking path surrounding the city’s iconic body of water will be lined with 1,500 little purple flags.
They’re a memorial to the lives impacted by and lost to British Columbia’s toxic drug crisis; each flag represents 10 deaths.
It’s also the ninth anniversary of the province’s declaration of a public health emergency on April 14, 2016.
Since then an average of 4.9 deaths due to the toxicity of the illicit drug supply have occurred every day.
According to Fraser Health, the estimated number of deaths from toxic drugs in Coquitlam this year is up 38 per cent over 2024.
“This gathering offers a space for connection and understanding as we unite to address this crisis,” said Roxanne Saxon, the program coordinator for the Tri-Cities Community Action Team that is organizing the flag display.
She said moving the display to the walking path around Lafarge Lake from its previous locations alongside busy roads like St. Johns Street in Port Moody as well as the Barnet and Lougheed highways in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam will make for “a more impactful experience.”
Visitors will be able to write the names of loved ones lost to toxic drugs on the flags.
“By fostering empathy, sharing information, and promoting support, we can collaborate to mitigate its devastating impact,” Saxon said. “Community engagement and understanding are essential for saving lives.”
Belinda Ruckman knows that all too well.
The Port Coquitlam woman lost her 24-year-old son, Reno, to poisoned drugs in 2019 and organizes an annual cleanup of the city’s riverbanks in his honour.
“For our family, hard as it is to talk about, you have to try to talk about it to try to save somebody’s life.”
The flags will be displayed from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and from 2 to 6 p.m. service providers will be available to share resources and space for visitors to connect and understand.
With a file from Diane Strandberg, Tri-City News
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