VICTORIA””British Columbia will create a centre to research drug addiction and provide education and guidance to health-care providers but more must be done to battle an illicit-drug overdose crisis, the premier says.

“We must stem this epidemic on our streets,” Christy Clark said Wednesday. “We must protect our children.”

She told an annual meeting of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities that B.C. will spend $10 million to deal with the issue, with half the funding going toward the B.C. Centre on Substance Use.

The province is home to some of Canada’s leading addiction and recovery experts, and the centre will help them continue important work aimed at preventing more tragedies, Clark said.

Addiction specialist Dr. Evan Wood, who will be the interim director of the centre, said the funding will save lives and improve care.

“By describing best practices and building linkages between treatment and recovery systems, it will help to address many of the health and social challenges associated with untreated addiction facing the health-care system in B.C.,” he said in a release.

The province will spend the remaining $5 million on initiatives such as handing out the overdose-reversing drug naloxone and teaching police how to use it to treat overdoses.

Expanding the use of naloxone is one priority identified by a provincial task force organized in July to address a high number of overdoses.