Anna Junker
© Provided by Edmonton Journal NDP mental health and addictions critic Lori Sigurdson, right, and NDP MLA Janis Irwin, left, called on the province to tackle the spike in overdoses, Friday, June 11, 2021.
Safe, legal, and regulated pharmaceutical alternatives to street drugs are part of a plan proposed by Alberta’s Opposition NDP to address the province’s current overdose crisis.
On Friday, NDP mental health and addictions critic Lori Sigurdson called on the province to adopt a three-point emergency action plan to tackle the spike in overdoses. The plan includes urgently expanding safe consumption site services not only in Edmonton and Calgary, but other municipalities such as Grande Prairie and Lethbridge.
Along with providing a safe supply of drugs, Sigurdson said the province should also offer drug checking services so individuals can test to see if their drugs are lethally toxic, a practice currently in place in British Columbia and Manitoba.
“When more than four Albertans are killed by an overdose every single day, how can we not do everything in our power to prevent more deaths,” Sigurdson said.
“The government often presents this to Albertans as a false choice — that we can do harm reduction, or we can do treatment and that’s simply not true. We must do both.”
The call comes days after Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jason Luan announced a nasal Naloxone pilot project for Edmonton .
Edmonton in particular has seen a spike in overdoses. Between May 31 and June 1, emergency medical services responded to 55 opioid-related calls in the Edmonton Zone, prompting an alert to be issued by Alberta Health Services.
According to the latest provincial data, 346 Albertans died of an accidental opioid overdose between January and March this year and of those, 109 were in Edmonton.
During the same time period last year, 160 Albertans died of an accidental overdose. Fifty-three of those deaths were in Edmonton.
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Lorna Thomas with Moms Stop the Harm holds a photograph of people that have died from substance related issues, waits to talk after Mental Health and Addictions critic Loris Sigurdson and MLA Janis Irwin at a press conference to put pressure on the UCP government to deal with the opioid crisis. Taken on Friday, June 11, 2021 in Edmonton. . Greg Southam-Postmedia
Lorna Thomas, a founder of Moms Stop the Harm, a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-related harms and death said during the press conference Friday that every day she receives messages from bereaved parents.
“Just over the last month in Riverdale in Edmonton where I live, five young people have passed away, all of them were under the age of 32. These deaths are preventable,” Thomas said.
She said the measures proposed by the NDP will help keep people alive.
“Addiction is defined as continuing to use despite consequences. So if we don’t want the consequence of drug use to be death, I implore the UCP government to work with the NDP to implement the recommendations that are being made,” said Thomas.
Justin Marshall, spokesman for Luan, said in a statement the province does not share the same view in offering a safe supply of drugs.
“We understand the Notley NDP wishes to adopt the British Columbia approach of flooding the streets with taxpayer-funded drugs. We do not share this view. Contrary to what some would like to argue, drugs are not ‘safe.’ Period,” Marshall said.
“We are working to establish a full continuum of care for people struggling with addiction, inclusive of prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery. Making dangerous and addictive drugs more available and free is contrary to the ultimate goal of getting Albertans suffering from addiction off drugs.”
He also noted the province would be interested in reviewing evidence from other provinces on drug checking and if it makes a difference in curbing overdoses.
“We will continue to take a city-by-city/site-by-site approach in regard to supervised consumptions services to ensure Albertans who are struggling with addiction get the help they need, while maintaining the safety and security of communities,” Marshall said.
Meanwhile, a recovery community in Red Deer that the province announced last year is moving forward.
In a news release Friday, the province said a 10-acre parcel of land in north Red Deer will be home to the 75-bed recovery community, a form of long-term residential treatment for addiction.
The community is within the Chiles Industrial Park, directly adjacent to Highway 2A and construction is anticipated to begin this fall.
ajunker@postmedia.com
“Just over the last month in Riverdale in Edmonton where I live, five young people have passed away, all of them were under the age of 32. These deaths are preventable,” Thomas said.
She said the measures proposed by the NDP will help keep people alive.
“Addiction is defined as continuing to use despite consequences. So if we don’t want the consequence of drug use to be death, I implore the UCP government to work with the NDP to implement the recommendations that are being made,” said Thomas.
Justin Marshall, spokesman for Luan, said in a statement the province does not share the same view in offering a safe supply of drugs.
“We understand the Notley NDP wishes to adopt the British Columbia approach of flooding the streets with taxpayer-funded drugs. We do not share this view. Contrary to what some would like to argue, drugs are not ‘safe.’ Period,” Marshall said.
“We are working to establish a full continuum of care for people struggling with addiction, inclusive of prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery. Making dangerous and addictive drugs more available and free is contrary to the ultimate goal of getting Albertans suffering from addiction off drugs.”
He also noted the province would be interested in reviewing evidence from other provinces on drug checking and if it makes a difference in curbing overdoses.
“We will continue to take a city-by-city/site-by-site approach in regard to supervised consumptions services to ensure Albertans who are struggling with addiction get the help they need, while maintaining the safety and security of communities,” Marshall said.
Meanwhile, a recovery community in Red Deer that the province announced last year is moving forward.
In a news release Friday, the province said a 10-acre parcel of land in north Red Deer will be home to the 75-bed recovery community, a form of long-term residential treatment for addiction.
The community is within the Chiles Industrial Park, directly adjacent to Highway 2A and construction is anticipated to begin this fall.
ajunker@postmedia.com
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