'We're running out of carpet to brush this under': 2nd annual smudge walk highlights overdose crisis in Sask.
CTV
Regina's downtown was filled with demonstrators Saturday afternoon during the city's second annual smudge walk.
Regina’s downtown was filled with demonstrators Saturday afternoon during the city’s second annual smudge walk.
Those who have lost loved ones and friends to drug overdoses marched down Regina's streets, in an act of remembrance as well as a reminder of the crisis Saskatchewan is facing.
“Kenton is my brother. He overdosed at the age of 41,” Stewart Malley told CTV News. Malley held a card bearing his brother’s name as he marched with dozens of other demonstrators.
Last year, there was a record 421 confirmed and suspected drug overdose deaths in Saskatchewan.
The tragic figure has left many families across the province to grieve.
“I lost a child last year, my oldest daughter died to this lifestyle. It still bothers me today,” Rod Belanger told a crowd of demonstrators during the march.
Those in Saskatchewan’s First Nations communities say they have been especially hard hit.