Ignored & Ignited: Overdose deaths

It’s been a massive issue between elections, but with the federal leaders out on the hustings, a debate over Canada’s overdose crisis has been largely absent.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, 12,800 Canadians died from apparent opioid-related overdoses between January 2016 and March of this year.

“If this was any other kind of issue — gun violence or contaminated lettuce — something that was killing people at that rate, it would have been brought up in the leadership debates,” says Corey Ranger, a harm reduction advocate with Change the Face of Addiction.

0:44 Harm reduction advocate ‘disappointed’ in lack of dialogue on overdose crisis in federal election debates

Since Canadian voters last went to the polls, the number of deaths has risen each year. From 3,023 in 2016 to 4,588 in 2018.

The federal government has brought in several measures to fight the problem. In 2018, it adopted the “Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act”. The law protects anyone involved in an overdose, either as a user or a witness, from being charged with possession of a controlled substance. The goal was to make sure bystanders don’t hesitate before calling 911.

In May, Canada became the first country to approve injectable hydromorphone for use as a treatment for severe opioid use disorder.

But as supervised injection sites fight overdose deaths in communities across Canada, there have been other consequences.

Some residents around the sites have criticized them for attracting crime.

David Low is the executive director of Calgary’s Victoria Park Business Improvement Area. He says members of his group are suffering, and he’s disappointed the drug epidemic hasn’t gotten more attention in the federal  election.

0:36 Opioid crisis doesn’t get enough attention during Canada federal election, says David Low

“It seems like we’re just acceptable casualties in the war on the opioid crisis,” Low says.

Cindy Graham lives in the area and says she’s seen it change since the supervised injection site opened.

“I walk down the street and people are laying on the sidewalks, or in the park,” she says. “Several years ago I would have gone up to them to ask if they were okay — you don’t do that now.”

Greg Tufford is a local property manager and says he’s surprised the crisis hasn’t been a bigger issue in the election.

“There’s a lot of vandalism, a lot of camping, littering, urinating, defecating,” he says. “The list goes on and on.”

For Ranger, the silence on the crisis is disheartening. He says it’s not talked about because of the stigma around addiction.

“It’s appalling because it tells us there are some people’s lives that are worth more than others,” Ranger says.

What the parties are promising:

The Liberal Party is promising new investments to help provinces and territories expand community-based services and open more in-patient rehab beds.  They also say they would extend hours for InSite and other save consumption sites.

The NDP says it would expand access to treatment on demand for people struggling with addiction. It would also open an investigation into the role drug companies may have played in the opioid crisis with the goal of seeking financial compensation.

0:44 ‘The federal government could be doing much, much more’: David Low

The Green Party would declare a national health emergency, and would decriminalize drug possession. It would also increase funding to community-based organizations so they could ensure the safety of drugs.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer argues for a law-and-order approach to the crisis. He’s said the focus should be on recovery programs.