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The latest figures from the B.C. Coroners Service show 128 people died of illicit-drug overdoses in September, an eight per cent increase from the previous month.

The figures released Wednesday also reveal a marked increase in fatalities from the same month a year ago, when 93 people overdosed in the province.

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Men have accounted for 80 per cent of the 1,143 deaths so far this year, with the opioid fentanyl responsible for the vast majority of them, the service said. Cocaine and methamphetamine also figured prominently in the number of illicit-drug deaths since 2016.

Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria have experienced the highest number of deaths this year.

Vancouver city council was expected to hear a motion Wednesday evening on newly elected Mayor Kennedy Stewart’s intention to appoint an opioid emergency task force that would review the factors driving opioid dependency and to advise council on possible interventions.