Surrey contends with rising overdose deaths among South Asian international students

The Surrey community has raised the alarm about a string of drug-related deaths among international students. Narinder Singh Walia, president of the Sikh temple in Surrey, said that the alarming rate of overdose deaths among South Asian students has gotten worse over the last two years. Kwantlen Polytechnic University Student Association President Armaan Dhillon described how moving to Canada can be shocking and isolating for students. “There are a number of issues which [the students] face, which include the high price of groceries and loneliness from their family members as they live alone,” said Dhillon. “If they’re going towards addiction, sometimes there’s peer pressure, sometimes they want to belong to a community, belong to a group, and they go under that peer pressure.” British Columbia’s Mental Health and Addictions ministry is reportedly seeking solutions to the situation.