The conversation around drug use and overdose prevention in Winnipeg has law enforcement and city officials reminding residents of the Good Samaritan Act — legislation that protects those who try to help others experiencing a medical emergency.
Local defence lawyer Scott Newman told 680 CJOB’s The Start that the act has been in place since the mid-2000s in Manitoba, and was influenced by similar legislation down south, where people tend to be more litigious.
“It’s very common in the United States. All 50 states have it, most provinces in Canada have it,” Newman said.
“Really, it’s a piece of legislation that’s sort of a signal to people in the community that … if you see an emergency and you intervene to help, you’re not going to get sued if something goes wrong. It’s not going to be your fault, you can’t be held legally liable, so that’s not a reason for you not to get involved.”
Newman said the act was introduced around the same time as potentially life-saving first aid equipment such as heart defibrillators started to become more common in public facilities such as hockey rinks.
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“People were getting scared, and saying, ‘What if I screw this up? What if I kill the guy that I’m trying to help, will I get in trouble?’
“It was actually the Heart and Stroke Foundation that came forward and said, we want to lower the barriers to entry for this, we want people to feel that if there’s an emergency and something goes wrong, they’re not going to get in trouble for it.
“You think about how these things arise, whether it’s a drug overdose or someone whose heart stops. You’ve never seen anything like that before in your life, you have no experience in it. It’s an emergency, you’re acting quickly, you’re thinking quickly…. When you’re in that kind of situation where you don’t have training, you’re not familiar with the equipment, you’re probably not trained as a doctor … you do have fears.”
According to the act, “A person who voluntarily provides emergency assistance to an individual injured in an accident or emergency is not liable in damages for injury to or the death of that individual caused by any act or omission in providing the emergency assistance, unless the person is grossly negligent.”
The increased public discussion of overdose prevention stems from a warning by Winnipeg police Tuesday about the increased presence of a street drug known as “down” in the city.
On Monday evening, police cadets found an unresponsive man who appeared to be suffering from an opioid overdose in a Graham Avenue bus shelter
With the help of four doses of Narcan, the man eventually woke up, police said, and was rushed to hospital, where he was expected to make a full recovery.
The City of Winnipeg also announced the availability of naloxone at select city facilities, as well as the ability for staff at those sites — which include recreation centres, pools, fitness centres and public libraries — to administer potentially lifesaving Naloxone spray.
“Opioids continue to be a significant public health concern and increasing access to naloxone will save lives,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said in a statement Tuesday.
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