As many of you will know, we lost a student to an overdose that happened on campus in January 2024. Since then, we have taken action to make our campus safer and improve processes in emergency situations.
We now have the results of an external review initiated in the wake of Sidney McIntyre-Starko’s passing, conducted by lawyer and former Abbotsford police chief, Bob Rich. The full report was posted at 10:30 this morning.
If you wish to read the report, please know that some of the details may be impactful. Supports are available for students and faculty/staff.
I know that staff and faculty at UVic care deeply and work tirelessly to support the safety and well-being of our community. When an incident like this occurs, it’s vital that we pause, take the time to reflect and take any steps necessary to improve campus safety.
Our community continues to face increasingly complex challenges, and the university has always strived to meet each new challenge with empathy, care and flexibility. Rich’s recommendations are a welcome tool to help bolster our response to the opioid crisis in British Columbia and its impacts on our campus. We’ve made progress towards the commitments we’ve already set, including commissioning this report, installing nasal naloxone kits across campus, and working with emergency responders to improve wayfinding signage. We still have work to do. This will take time, and we’re committed to the work ahead.
Mr. Rich’s report is in addition to the upcoming BC Coroner’s inquest and complements the work the provincial steering committee is undertaking to review existing policies, identify gaps, and recommend best practices in overdose prevention and response at all BC public post-secondary institutions.
Rich’s recommendations, alongside advice from UVic researchers with specialized expertise in overdose prevention and harm reduction, results from the Students’ Assembly on Reducing Harms from Toxic Drugs, and the upcoming Coroner’s Inquest, will all inform UVic’s first comprehensive institutional Overdose Prevention Plan that is being led by Dr. Jennifer White.
I, along with the executive leadership team, will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the recommendations.
We’re committed to making campus safer for everyone, and we fully accept all 18 recommendations in the Rich report. Please check our overdose prevention and harm reduction page for more information.
Sincerely,
Kevin Hall, PhD
President and Vice-Chancellor
