‘I just want to save lives’: Father on a mission after son’s fatal overdose

Christian Boivin is grieving the loss of his 15-year-old son Mathis, who died of a drug overdose just before Christmas.

On the night of Dec. 21, 2023, after going to bed, the Montreal teen took what he thought was oxycontin. He’d purchased the street drugs earlier that day.

“He never woke up,” Boivin said.

The father of three has made it his mission to raise awareness about the risks associated with using drugs.

“I just want to save other lives,” Boivin said.

He’s hoping that putting a face on the issue will resonate with others and maybe spare them the pain of losing a loved one to a fatal overdose.

“You look at the news and there are statistics. There’s number of deaths. Right now I think it’s 22 per day in Canada — but you don’t know the 22 people,” he said.

He’s hoping other teens will see Mathis, hear his story, and recognize themselves.

“He was a teenager like all teenagers. He was going to school, enjoying himself, but he made a mistake.”

The pill Mathis took contained isotonitazene, a synthetic opioid. Montreal’s public health department says it is associated with a high risk of overdose and is regularly detected in street drugs, including pills and powders.

Jean-François Mary, executive director of CACTUS — a community organization offering harm-reduction services — says the opioid could be about 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin.

“First of all, nowadays folks should avoid using alone. And when not using alone, when using with other people, people should always have naloxone on hand. And enough naloxone. Like when you’re talking viles of naloxone from the pharmacy, at least four, five viles,” he said.

It’s also important to perform CPR until first responders arrive, Mary added.

2:12 Father speaks out after 15-year-old son dies from overdose

Boivin says he wishes he had known more about synthetic opioids earlier.

Unlike drugs you buy at the pharmacy, street drugs don’t come with instructions.

“They don’t give you the small paper saying: ‘Take with food, no alcohol … it could cause this symptom,” Boivin said.

Had his son known the symptoms of an overdose, he could have asked for help instead of going to sleep.

In this alternative scenario, Boivin sees himself dialling 911 and starting CPR – a chance to save his son’s life.

Boivin feels more needs to be done to educate youth about the potential risks.

“Prevention, it’s not only saying don’t use it, but if you feel like that, tell people you’re not OK.”

During a press conference Wednesday, Quebec’s public health director called Mathis’s death an extremely sad situation, adding that the province has recently announced more funding to combat drug-related deaths.

“It’s a major concern but we’re trying to take all the levers that we have but it’s still something that’s underground and difficult to grab,” Dr. Luc Boileau said.

Meanwhile, Boivin will continue to share Mathis’s story.

“It’s helped me,” he said.

— with files from Global News’ Felicia Parrillo and Kalina Laframboise