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New national statistics show there were more than 11,000 opioid-related deaths in Canada between 2016 and 2018. This opioid crisis is the subject of two talks and a powerful art display at Christ Church Cathedral.


Wednesday June 26, 11.00 am to 1.00 pm. Discussion with Leslie McBain, co-founder of Moms Stop the Harm, facilitated by Dr. David Mensink.Naloxone training will be part of the session.

Wednesday, July 3 from 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm. Forum with Chief Medical Health Officer for Island Health Dr. Richard Stanwick and the cathedral’s deacon to the city, Nancy Ford.

June 18 to July 8 HOPE Art exhibit of memorial banners. The artful tapestry, about 30 metres long, will be up along the south wall of the cathedral. The public is invited to view it from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm daily.

ABOUT the ARTIST
After her son, Matthew, died of a fentanyl overdose in 2017, Judith Conway wanted to create a visual representation of the human impact of the opioid crisis. She recruited some friends to help sew together colourful flags with names of Comox residents who have died from overdoses. The display includes thousands of pieces of yarn, each one representing a Canadian who has died. Conway began by hanging it along her back fence in 2018 before showing it in Comox. She travelled to the Vatican in March 2019 to have the pieces blessed by Pope Francis.