Rustad changes story on fatal overdose coroner had no record of

The B.C. Coroners Service says it has no record of any recent drug toxicity death at a Vancouver intersection where B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said he saw a man die while on his way to a televised election debate — a story the Tory leader would later change completely.

Rustad told Tuesday’s party leaders’ debate that he saw someone die “from an overdose” on the corner of Robson and Hornby streets in Vancouver, later telling a news conference he watched first responders “pumping his chest” as an ambulance arrived.

The B.C. Coroners Service says it would be notified of a deadly overdose, and it has no record of such an event in the last two and a half weeks at the location given by Rustad.

The service says if first responders were on scene and a person died, “a coroner would be called,” and it would also be notified if a person received resuscitation but later died in hospital. 

B.C. Emergency Health Services also says it has “no records of any patient events” on Tuesday at the corner of Robson and Hornby streets “or on the blocks immediately adjacent to that intersection.”

Rustadhad used the anecdote during his debate with NDP Leader David Eby and Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau as an illustration of what he called “the British Columbia that David Eby has created.”

“I was on my way over here, and on the corner of Robson and Hornby, there was an individual who died, and there were emergency people rushing [around]. This person died from an overdose,” he said.

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Analysis and key moments from B.C. party leaders’ debate

Our Katie DeRosa breaks down the key moments of the debate between B.C. NDP Leader David Eby, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad and B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau.

He was asked to elaborate at the post-debate news conference.

“[What] I saw from the window as I was looking down at this individual on the ground with the emergency people pumping his chest trying to bring him back to life and an ambulance coming up … I mean, it just, it’s horrendous to think that that is becoming normal place on our streets here in Vancouver and across this province.”

Tory leader changes story

A day after the debate, after requests from CBC News, Rustad changed his story to say that he saw an overdose at a different downtown location, and the person survived.

In an emailed response, a Conservative spokesperson said that Rustad witnessed a person overdosing at the corner of Burrard and Helmcken streets while in a moving car.

The spokesperson emailed a picture, which they said was taken by Rustad’s aide, which appears to show people gathered outside a youth shelter on Burrard Street, around 500 metres from St. Paul’s Hospital.

However, no emergency responders or ambulances are visible in the image, despite Rustad’s debate claims.

The spokesperson said that Rustad did not engage with anyone on the scene but said that “some of the bystanders at the scene signalled that the person in question had sadly passed.”

“From a distance, I saw someone who was unresponsive being resuscitated by medical professionals on my way to the debate,” Rustad said.

“I am overjoyed to have been told that the individual, who I had been told had overdosed, survived thanks to the heroic efforts of our first responders.”

CBC News has reached out to the Conservatives to ask how Rustad received the information he referenced, as well as B.C. Emergency Health Services to see if they have a record of paramedics arriving at Burrard and Helmcken streets before the debate.

The Conservative leader did not have any public events scheduled for Wednesday, the day after the debate.

In a post on the social media platform X, Rustad said that there was an ambulance at the scene when he saw it, and his staff walked by as CPR was happening.

“One lady said, ‘he’s overdosed.’ Another said, ‘he’s gone,'” Rustad claimed in his post.

Coroner would record deaths

B.C. Coroners Service media relations manager Amber Schinkel said in an emailed response to questions that she had “reviewed drug toxicity deaths in Vancouver since September 25, 2024, and there is nothing near this address.”

Asked if there were circumstances in which the service would not record a death, she said if it involved drug toxicity, the coroner would be notified.

“If first responders had attempted to resuscitate a person at a scene and the person died, a coroner would be called. If first responders transported the person to hospital, where they later died, the Coroners Service would still be notified,” she said.

She said an exception was if a person was in their home in the area and under a doctor’s care when they died, “a death through MAID, for example,” then the service would not be notified.