Thank you to all of the witnesses for being here.
I will speak to Ms. Schulz, first, extending my condolences as well for Danny on the eve of the anniversary of his death. You and the mothers and families know better than anybody how dangerous the toxic illicit drug supply is right now and what it's like to support someone with substance use disorder.
We have seen the numbers in B.C. somewhat plateau at about 5% year over year in the growth of overdose deaths. No overdose death is good. We have seen Ontario at 6.8%. They also have safe supply there. It's a very small amount in both provinces. I think it's less than 2.5% of people who have access to a safe supply overdose. In Alberta the numbers have shot up by 17% in your home province. In Saskatchewan, they have increased by 23%. A neighbouring state, Alaska, a Republican state, has seen an increase of 45% year over year. They have just surpassed B.C. for toxic drug deaths per 100,000, and Alberta is on a trajectory to pass B.C. by June.
Can you tell us what's going on in your home province and why there is such a spike in Alberta, Saskatchewan and possibly Alaska?