The Carpenters’ Regional Council Local 1598 in Victoria is providing free naloxone kits and training for its members.
The council said they are the first craft union in the province to take this step.
The kits are being offered through the B.C. Construction Industry Rehab Plan.
The Victoria office was chosen to pilot this initiative after union members took action because of the high number of opioid deaths in construction.
“It’s just a matter of time in this industry before you know someone who’s died from an overdose,” said union representative Matt Carlow in a news release. “It seems like not long before you know more than you can count.”
According to the Construction Industry Rehab Plan, a large number of people who have died in the opioid crisis are construction workers and that number has gone up significantly in the past five years.
READ MORE: Nearly 7 British Columbians died a day from toxic drugs in January
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