Thousands of blue and purple flags fill a large green patch of grass in long rows near a the foot of Lions Gate Bridge in West Vancouver.
But they are more than just tiny flags in the ground. Each of the 15,000 flags represents a life lost to the toxic drug crisis since 2016.
Ron Kerr, born and raised in North Vancouver, created The Blue Hat Memorial to illustrate the scale of the opioid crisis in a way that was more than just numbers.
“We become extremely numb to numbers,” Kerr said. “Whether it’s budget numbers or the number of people dying in wars, they just become numbers.”
He’s hoping that seeing the installation in-person will change that.
The Campbell River city councillor had the memorial on display before Campbell River on Aug. 31, marking International Overdose Awareness Day, before bringing it to the North Shore to be displayed prominently in a busy urban corridor. More than 20 people came to help put the flags into the ground in a process that took more than two hours, he said.
Kerr is a longtime mental health advocate for men and boys. When the province declared the opioid crisis an emergency in 2016, he quickly saw statistics that showed that men and boys were hit hard by the crisis, especially those working in the trades or blue-collar jobs.
Men working in the trades industry are over-represented in the number of overdose deaths, a 2022 B.C. Coroners report found. The report said that of the 35 per cent of people who were employed at the time of their death, 52 per cent of them worked in the construction, trades or the transport industry.
But 3,000 of those flags are marked purple to remember the women who have also died from the toxic drug crisis, Kerr said.
“I am pleased to bring this important project to Vancouver so that a greater audience can experience what the 15,000 deaths of men and women look like in a powerful visual statement,” Kerr said. “No one can help but be emotionally moved by 15,000 flags representing the 15,000 individuals and their families, blowing in the wind.”
Kerr hopes to bring the art installation to other parts of B.C. soon, with Victoria as the potential next location.
The art installation will be on display near Lions Gate Bridge until Oct. 31.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
