Kwanlin Dün First Nation in Whitehorse declares substance use emergency

The Kwanlin Dün First Nation in Whitehorse has declared a substance use health emergency. 

In a news release on Friday, the First Nation says there's been an increase in alcohol and drug use lately, resulting in more drug trafficking and crime in the community. It also references a trend of overdoses caused by toxic drug supply and lack of public awareness around safe consumption.

"Our citizens continue to suffer losses due to substance use. We have all been impacted," Smith said at a news conference on Friday. "Each person lost is a brother, sister, auntie, uncle, mother, father, friend and loved one."

The emergency declaration will be in place for 90 days. If a special general assembly is called, it could end sooner, according to the First Nation's Governance Act.

"We know we cannot eliminate drugs in 90 days," reads Friday's news release.

"The road ahead will be challenging. We will know our efforts are paying off when our community tells us they feel safe and supported."

Within those 90 days, the First Nation has pledged to fund expansions of community outreach and land-based healing. It's also planning a community engagement session to develop a substance use action plan.

It also says it's going to enforce the eviction of First Nation housing tenants who are selling opioids, as well as "identify drug related hot spots" to understand current risks.

Yukon's chief coroner Heather Jones says there have been eight deaths due to toxic illicit drugs in 2024 so far. Two of those people died "in the last couple months," she told CBC in an email on Friday.

Seven of those eight people died in Whitehorse and seven were individuals who identified as First Nation citizens, according to Jones. 

Jones says it's "encouraging" to hear about the substance use emergency being declared. She says 14 people had died of overdose by this time in 2023 — compared to eight so far this year — so she is "cautiously optimistic" that things are improving.

But Jones says there's still more work to be done.

"We are still losing too many people to these preventable deaths," Jones said. "One death is too many."

The Yukon government declared a substance use emergency in early 2022, and other Yukon First Nations have also made similar declarations in recent years.