CANADIANS ARE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS
Parliament votes down Conservative motion against safe supply of drugs
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Parliament votes down Conservative motion against safe supply of drugs
Stephanie Taylor
The Canadian Press
Updated May 29, 2023
OTTAWA -
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has failed to persuade the House of Commons to condemn the Liberal government's approach to fighting drug addiction.
In a vote of 209-113 Monday, MPs defeated a motion presented by Poilievre.
The motion took aim at the federal government's harm-reduction policies for drug users, but focused mainly on its decision to fund the supply of pharmaceutical alternatives as a replacement for certain illicit drugs to combat the opioid crisis.
Such programs are commonly referred to as "safe supply," or "safer supply," although the federal Conservatives and other critics dispute that term, given the risks associated with drug use.
The federal government has pointed to experts who say that a poisoned drug supply is one of the main reasons so many Canadians are dying from unintentional overdoses, and that providing access to other drugs as a substitute saves lives.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says nearly 35,000 people died from opioid toxicity between 2016 and 2022.
Since becoming Conservative leader last fall, Poilievre has pointed to the alarming number of people who have died from opioid overdoses as evidence of a failed approach. He has criticized the option of offering an alternative supply of drugs, which his motion referred to as the "tax-funded drug supply," as fuelling addiction rather than recovery.
He argues such policies have led to wider access to dangerous drugs by users who, instead of taking them, turn around and sell them. Poilievre has proposed diverting money used to fund safe supply towards treatment.
His motion specifically called on the House to "immediately reverse its deadly policies and redirect all funds from taxpayer-funded, hard drug programs to addiction, treatment and recovery programs."
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett has told MPs that Poilievre's criticism of a replacement drug supply is not based on evidence, with her office adding in a statement Monday that Health Canada is not aware of substitute drugs "flooding the streets."
"For Pierre Poilievre to state untrue information about safer supply, and try to create barriers to accessing harm reduction services that are saving lives amid this ongoing crisis is incredibly irresponsible and dehumanizing to people who use drugs," a spokeswoman said in a statement from Bennett's office.
It said the government takes reports of diversion "very seriously." Bennett's office also pointed out that the British Columbia coroners service, which studied deaths from drug toxicity from 2012 to 2022 in the province, concluded there was "no indication that prescribed safe supply is contributing to illicit drug deaths."
"The Conservatives want to take us back to the failed ideology of Harper-era drug policy, and the war on drugs that was proven to be ineffective, costly, deadly, and deeply stigmatizing," said Bennett's office.
A coalition of groups that advocate on behalf of drug users in B.C. and those whose loved ones have died from opioid-related overdoses released a statement Monday, voicing concern about hydromorphone, one of the drug alternatives Poilievre has singled out as problematic.
The joint statement from organizations, including the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, says such prescriptions "help many of us reduce or eliminate our reliance on street drugs."
"If we get cut off, our risks will go up."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023.
The Canadian Press
Updated May 29, 2023
OTTAWA -
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has failed to persuade the House of Commons to condemn the Liberal government's approach to fighting drug addiction.
In a vote of 209-113 Monday, MPs defeated a motion presented by Poilievre.
The motion took aim at the federal government's harm-reduction policies for drug users, but focused mainly on its decision to fund the supply of pharmaceutical alternatives as a replacement for certain illicit drugs to combat the opioid crisis.
Such programs are commonly referred to as "safe supply," or "safer supply," although the federal Conservatives and other critics dispute that term, given the risks associated with drug use.
The federal government has pointed to experts who say that a poisoned drug supply is one of the main reasons so many Canadians are dying from unintentional overdoses, and that providing access to other drugs as a substitute saves lives.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says nearly 35,000 people died from opioid toxicity between 2016 and 2022.
Since becoming Conservative leader last fall, Poilievre has pointed to the alarming number of people who have died from opioid overdoses as evidence of a failed approach. He has criticized the option of offering an alternative supply of drugs, which his motion referred to as the "tax-funded drug supply," as fuelling addiction rather than recovery.
He argues such policies have led to wider access to dangerous drugs by users who, instead of taking them, turn around and sell them. Poilievre has proposed diverting money used to fund safe supply towards treatment.
His motion specifically called on the House to "immediately reverse its deadly policies and redirect all funds from taxpayer-funded, hard drug programs to addiction, treatment and recovery programs."
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett has told MPs that Poilievre's criticism of a replacement drug supply is not based on evidence, with her office adding in a statement Monday that Health Canada is not aware of substitute drugs "flooding the streets."
"For Pierre Poilievre to state untrue information about safer supply, and try to create barriers to accessing harm reduction services that are saving lives amid this ongoing crisis is incredibly irresponsible and dehumanizing to people who use drugs," a spokeswoman said in a statement from Bennett's office.
It said the government takes reports of diversion "very seriously." Bennett's office also pointed out that the British Columbia coroners service, which studied deaths from drug toxicity from 2012 to 2022 in the province, concluded there was "no indication that prescribed safe supply is contributing to illicit drug deaths."
"The Conservatives want to take us back to the failed ideology of Harper-era drug policy, and the war on drugs that was proven to be ineffective, costly, deadly, and deeply stigmatizing," said Bennett's office.
A coalition of groups that advocate on behalf of drug users in B.C. and those whose loved ones have died from opioid-related overdoses released a statement Monday, voicing concern about hydromorphone, one of the drug alternatives Poilievre has singled out as problematic.
The joint statement from organizations, including the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, says such prescriptions "help many of us reduce or eliminate our reliance on street drugs."
"If we get cut off, our risks will go up."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023.
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HE'S ALL SOUND BITES NO SCIENCE
Poilievre slams ‘so-called experts’ pushing for government-funded supply of drugs to stop opioid crisis
Conservatives asked the government to reverse its safe supply policy, and instead redirect the money to addiction treatment and recovery programs
Author of the article: Catherine Lévesque
Published May 18, 2023 • POSTMEDIA
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre doubled down on his criticism of the federal government’s approach to dealing with the opioid crisis, and insinuated advocates of the safe supply program are “activists” or wilfully perpetuating the crisis to make money.
His comments came as Conservatives used their opposition day motion in the House of Commons to ask the government to reverse its policy of offering a safe supply of drugs to people who are at high risk of an overdose, and instead redirect the money to treatment and recovery programs.
In his opening speech on Thursday, Poilievre accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of having implemented “a theory backed up by a group of activists, most of them tax-funded, pharmaceutical companies and others who stand to gain from perpetuating the crisis.
“These so-called experts are typically pie in the sky theorists with no experience getting people off drugs, or they’re members of the misery industry, those paid activists and public health bureaucrats whose jobs depend on the crisis continuing,” he said.
B.C. New Democrat Gord Johns expressed surprise at the comments, and said Health Canada created an expert task force on substance abuse, which included public health officials, community and business leaders among others, that recommended a safer supply of drugs.
He also said that the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs, as well as British Columbia’s chief coroner and chief medical officer have expressed support for the policy.
“And the leader of the Official Opposition calls them ‘activists’,” said Johns.
\
Ottawa insists safe supply drugs saving lives, downplays resale problem
Ben Perrin, a former adviser to prime minister Stephen Harper and author of a book on the opioid crisis, said in an interview that Poilievre’s comments are “repugnant and really hurtful” for all those who, like him, are arguing for a safer supply of drugs in order to save lives
“I was part of their party for years,” he said. “And I have been very public about the reasons for why, I’m sure with my views, and, you know, no one’s got me in their back pocket.”
The Conservatives have been pushing the issue on drugs ever since the National Post published an investigation showing that some B.C. drug users who were given government-funded opioids would trade or sell them to buy fentanyl or other street drugs.
A reporter from Global News tested that claim in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and demonstrated that this phenomenon of “diversion” is not just anecdotal. In fact, the reporter was able to buy 26 tablets of hydromorphone in just under 30 minutes for $30.
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett said the federal government has been aware that there is an “issue” with diversion but still believes safe supply is saving lives.
The political debate on the issue became so heated earlier this week that Poilievre accused federal Liberals of “killing” people with their drug policies, which prompted Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to stand up and defend her colleague, Bennett.
“Unlike the leader of the opposition, who is a career politician and has done nothing else, she is a doctor,” said Freeland of Bennett.
British Columbia’s coroner confirmed on Thursday that the unregulated drug market is to blame for most of the deaths related to the opioid crisis, and that illicit fentanyl continues to be the “most lethal driver” — not the prescribed opioids that are considered to be safe supply.
“Members of our communities are dying because non-prescribed, non-pharmaceutical fentanyl is poisoning them on an unprecedented scale,” said B.C.’s chief coroner Lisa Lapointe.
The House of Commons is expected to vote on the Conservative motion to reverse the government’s safe supply policy on drugs next week, but it seems unlikely that any of the other political parties will support it.
“We have lost thousands of lives to an unregulated toxic drug supply and what do the Conservatives do? They bring forward this motion, they play politics with people’s lives and they oversimplify this really important health issue,” said Johns.
Even the Bloc Québécois’ Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay accused Conservatives of indulging in “demagoguery” and said that Canada should focus on an approach focused on public health.
“We lived through 10 years of that Conservative government taking harm reduction out with their deadly war on drugs that has been proven to be ineffective, costly, as well as deadly. These policies have also had a profound negative effect on Canada’s most vulnerable,” said Bennett.
“Fight against evidence-based programs that are actually saving lives just has to stop. People are dying, but not for the reasons that (Conservatives) are giving.”
Poilievre slams ‘so-called experts’ pushing for government-funded supply of drugs to stop opioid crisis
Conservatives asked the government to reverse its safe supply policy, and instead redirect the money to addiction treatment and recovery programs
Author of the article: Catherine Lévesque
Published May 18, 2023 • POSTMEDIA
LYING IN PARLIMENT IS PERMISSIBLE
“These so-called experts are typically pie in the sky theorists with no experience getting people off drugs,” said Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre during question period on May 18, 2023.
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre doubled down on his criticism of the federal government’s approach to dealing with the opioid crisis, and insinuated advocates of the safe supply program are “activists” or wilfully perpetuating the crisis to make money.
His comments came as Conservatives used their opposition day motion in the House of Commons to ask the government to reverse its policy of offering a safe supply of drugs to people who are at high risk of an overdose, and instead redirect the money to treatment and recovery programs.
In his opening speech on Thursday, Poilievre accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of having implemented “a theory backed up by a group of activists, most of them tax-funded, pharmaceutical companies and others who stand to gain from perpetuating the crisis.
“These so-called experts are typically pie in the sky theorists with no experience getting people off drugs, or they’re members of the misery industry, those paid activists and public health bureaucrats whose jobs depend on the crisis continuing,” he said.
B.C. New Democrat Gord Johns expressed surprise at the comments, and said Health Canada created an expert task force on substance abuse, which included public health officials, community and business leaders among others, that recommended a safer supply of drugs.
He also said that the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs, as well as British Columbia’s chief coroner and chief medical officer have expressed support for the policy.
“And the leader of the Official Opposition calls them ‘activists’,” said Johns.
\
Ottawa insists safe supply drugs saving lives, downplays resale problem
Ben Perrin, a former adviser to prime minister Stephen Harper and author of a book on the opioid crisis, said in an interview that Poilievre’s comments are “repugnant and really hurtful” for all those who, like him, are arguing for a safer supply of drugs in order to save lives
“I was part of their party for years,” he said. “And I have been very public about the reasons for why, I’m sure with my views, and, you know, no one’s got me in their back pocket.”
The Conservatives have been pushing the issue on drugs ever since the National Post published an investigation showing that some B.C. drug users who were given government-funded opioids would trade or sell them to buy fentanyl or other street drugs.
A reporter from Global News tested that claim in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and demonstrated that this phenomenon of “diversion” is not just anecdotal. In fact, the reporter was able to buy 26 tablets of hydromorphone in just under 30 minutes for $30.
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett said the federal government has been aware that there is an “issue” with diversion but still believes safe supply is saving lives.
The political debate on the issue became so heated earlier this week that Poilievre accused federal Liberals of “killing” people with their drug policies, which prompted Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to stand up and defend her colleague, Bennett.
“Unlike the leader of the opposition, who is a career politician and has done nothing else, she is a doctor,” said Freeland of Bennett.
British Columbia’s coroner confirmed on Thursday that the unregulated drug market is to blame for most of the deaths related to the opioid crisis, and that illicit fentanyl continues to be the “most lethal driver” — not the prescribed opioids that are considered to be safe supply.
“Members of our communities are dying because non-prescribed, non-pharmaceutical fentanyl is poisoning them on an unprecedented scale,” said B.C.’s chief coroner Lisa Lapointe.
The House of Commons is expected to vote on the Conservative motion to reverse the government’s safe supply policy on drugs next week, but it seems unlikely that any of the other political parties will support it.
“We have lost thousands of lives to an unregulated toxic drug supply and what do the Conservatives do? They bring forward this motion, they play politics with people’s lives and they oversimplify this really important health issue,” said Johns.
Even the Bloc Québécois’ Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay accused Conservatives of indulging in “demagoguery” and said that Canada should focus on an approach focused on public health.
“We lived through 10 years of that Conservative government taking harm reduction out with their deadly war on drugs that has been proven to be ineffective, costly, as well as deadly. These policies have also had a profound negative effect on Canada’s most vulnerable,” said Bennett.
“Fight against evidence-based programs that are actually saving lives just has to stop. People are dying, but not for the reasons that (Conservatives) are giving.”
Are safe supply policies effective at curbing drug overdoses?
May 18, 2023
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre introduced a motion Thursday calling on the Liberal government to halt all programs providing non-toxic drugs to those suffering with addictions and redirect funding to treatment services. He argues the programs are leading to more opioid deaths.
Poilievre defends safe supply criticisms, says programs ‘perpetuating’ addiction
By Teresa Wright Global News
Posted December 21, 2022
WATCH: A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that users provided with a safe supply of opioids were less likely to be hospitalized or in the emergency room. – Sep 19, 2022
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is defending his criticism of programs that offer what experts call a safer supply of drugs to Canadians with addictions as a tool to tackle the opioid crisis, saying he believes these programs are “perpetuating indefinitely” people’s addictions.
In a radio interview with host Alex Pierson on AM640 Toronto that aired Tuesday, Poilievre says his recent criticism of safe supply programs was “widely misrepresented by the critics.”
AM640 is a radio station owned by Corus Entertainment, the parent company of Global News.
He then went on to reiterate some of the same concerns about safe supply that front-line harm reduction experts say demonstrate a misunderstanding of the issue.
Poilievre clarified Tuesday that he supports providing medications that help reverse drug overdoses and medications that “reduce the pain and suffering of withdrawal” for those with addictions.
But he says his support doesn’t extend to the 17 federally funded pilot projects being run in pockets of the country that provide patients with prescriptions for pharmaceutical-grade opioids, offered to reduce reliance on street drugs that health officials say are increasingly contaminated with dangerously potent levels of fentanyl.
“What I don’t support is just perpetuating indefinitely their addiction, as the current approach is doing,” Poilievre told Pierson.
In a radio interview with host Alex Pierson on AM640 Toronto that aired Tuesday, Poilievre says his recent criticism of safe supply programs was “widely misrepresented by the critics.”
AM640 is a radio station owned by Corus Entertainment, the parent company of Global News.
He then went on to reiterate some of the same concerns about safe supply that front-line harm reduction experts say demonstrate a misunderstanding of the issue.
Poilievre clarified Tuesday that he supports providing medications that help reverse drug overdoses and medications that “reduce the pain and suffering of withdrawal” for those with addictions.
But he says his support doesn’t extend to the 17 federally funded pilot projects being run in pockets of the country that provide patients with prescriptions for pharmaceutical-grade opioids, offered to reduce reliance on street drugs that health officials say are increasingly contaminated with dangerously potent levels of fentanyl.
“What I don’t support is just perpetuating indefinitely their addiction, as the current approach is doing,” Poilievre told Pierson.
“We have these so-called safe supply programs, but the problem with the way they run is that they don’t guide people towards an eventual drug-free life. They keep them in the current state of addiction.”
The Conservative leader said believes the most important thing is to “keep the addict alive by avoiding overdose or contamination deaths,” but that the long-term solution must be to “get them into recovery and treatment and help them get off drugs altogether.”
Experts who have been working on the front lines of the opioid crisis, among many others, have raised concern about Poilievre’s comments about harm reduction measures such as safe consumption sites and programs that offer safer supplies of opiates.
In a video, entitled “Everything feels broken,” which was shared in November on the Conservative leader’s Twitter account, Poilievre pointed to a tent city on the outskirts of Vancouver, claiming a rise in addictions and drug use in communities across Canada is “the result of a failed experiment.”
“This is a deliberate policy by woke Liberal and NDP governments to provide taxpayer-funded drugs, flood our streets with easy access to these poisons,” Poilievre says in the video.
But some experts take strong issue with Poilievre’s comments.
Not only are his representations a “politicization” of the opioid crisis, but they also stand to further stigmatize vulnerable Canadians who are already living on the extreme margins of society with few social supports, Cheyenne Johnson, executive director at the BC Centre on Substance Use, told Global
“The politicization of these issues to get votes is a bit disheartening when really there’s been clear calls by expert groups … that really show an evidence-based approach to improving the lives of people who use drugs in Canada,” Johnson said.
The Conservative leader said believes the most important thing is to “keep the addict alive by avoiding overdose or contamination deaths,” but that the long-term solution must be to “get them into recovery and treatment and help them get off drugs altogether.”
Experts who have been working on the front lines of the opioid crisis, among many others, have raised concern about Poilievre’s comments about harm reduction measures such as safe consumption sites and programs that offer safer supplies of opiates.
In a video, entitled “Everything feels broken,” which was shared in November on the Conservative leader’s Twitter account, Poilievre pointed to a tent city on the outskirts of Vancouver, claiming a rise in addictions and drug use in communities across Canada is “the result of a failed experiment.”
“This is a deliberate policy by woke Liberal and NDP governments to provide taxpayer-funded drugs, flood our streets with easy access to these poisons,” Poilievre says in the video.
But some experts take strong issue with Poilievre’s comments.
Not only are his representations a “politicization” of the opioid crisis, but they also stand to further stigmatize vulnerable Canadians who are already living on the extreme margins of society with few social supports, Cheyenne Johnson, executive director at the BC Centre on Substance Use, told Global
“The politicization of these issues to get votes is a bit disheartening when really there’s been clear calls by expert groups … that really show an evidence-based approach to improving the lives of people who use drugs in Canada,” Johnson said.
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“It’s disheartening to see those reports and recommendations that are there really be disregarded or not utilized.”
For example, a review of 10 federally funded safer supply pilot projects in three provinces, commissioned by Health Canada and released earlier this year, found that participants reported improvements in their lives and well-being.
Another independent study published in September in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) looked at individuals who used a safer supply program in London, Ont., for three years, and found participation in the program cut down on emergency department visits and hospitalizations for people at high risk for overdose.
It also found there were no opioid-related deaths among those who were part of the program.
As for Poilievre’s claim Tuesday that safer supply programs “don’t guide people towards an eventual drug-free life,” most centres that offer these programs do also offer additional wraparound supports, depending on people’s needs, Rob Boyd, CEO of Ottawa Inner City Health, told Global News earlier this month.
His organization runs a safer supply program and other harm reduction initiatives in Canada’s capital.
“You really need a kind of a comprehensive approach because you can’t just take one piece of somebody’s life and change it. You can’t just take their substance use and change it without changing other things because that’s there for a reason: it’s actually providing them with a coping skill in a very untenable situation,” Boyd explained.
“Part of what we want to do when we’re working with the marginalized populations and people who are experiencing a lot of barriers is to create these conditions where good things start happening to them.”
Safe drug supply key recommendation in reducing toxic illicit drug-related deaths
When people addicted to drugs start to see positive developments in their lives, their relationship to substances can start to change, which is why programs like safer supply are usually the beginning of a continuum of treatment, he said
“Most of the pilot programs that are happening across Canada have wraparound supports to (them), so again, you begin to work on other issues that can kind of build up the person’s capacity and motivation for change.”
Virtually any front-line worker who supports programs for drug users would agree with Poilievre that detox and rehabilitation treatment programs are also important, Boyd said.
But some of them must offer “low-barrier” access to allow those in the throes of a difficult addiction that causes significant pain and suffering upon withdrawal an opportunity for success, Boyd said.
“It has to be tolerant of the fact that, even as you’re starting people on treatment, that they’re going to continue to use drugs from the illicit supply and that people aren’t punished for that, so that people can be upfront and honest about their use,” he said.
“We also need to look at other types of treatment for opioid use disorder, because we really haven’t changed an awful lot about what treatments are available for people.”
Meanwhile, data released last week by the federal government shows that while the opioid crisis continues to cause an alarming number of deaths, the outlook could be starting to improve, thanks in part to health interventions that include safe supply, in addition to other prevention and treatment measures.
Previous modelling released in June projected that Canada could see anywhere from 1,400 to 2,400 opioid-related deaths every quarter, based on national surveillance data.
But newly updated projections by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) suggest the death toll could instead range from 1,300 to 2,050, every quarter through to June 2023.
The variations in these projections depend on five different scenarios with varying outcomes, based on whether health interventions could prevent the same proportion of deaths or more and whether the level of fentanyl in the drug supply remains the same or gets worse.
“The results of the model suggest that, under some scenarios, the number of opioid-related deaths through to June 2023 may remain high, or may also decrease, but not to levels seen before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” PHAC states on its website.
A total of 32,632 Canadians have died due to opioids between 2016 and June of this year, according to the latest federal data.
The majority of deaths — 90 per cent — have occurred in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, but high rates were also observed in other regions, according to the data.
When people addicted to drugs start to see positive developments in their lives, their relationship to substances can start to change, which is why programs like safer supply are usually the beginning of a continuum of treatment, he said
“Most of the pilot programs that are happening across Canada have wraparound supports to (them), so again, you begin to work on other issues that can kind of build up the person’s capacity and motivation for change.”
Virtually any front-line worker who supports programs for drug users would agree with Poilievre that detox and rehabilitation treatment programs are also important, Boyd said.
But some of them must offer “low-barrier” access to allow those in the throes of a difficult addiction that causes significant pain and suffering upon withdrawal an opportunity for success, Boyd said.
“It has to be tolerant of the fact that, even as you’re starting people on treatment, that they’re going to continue to use drugs from the illicit supply and that people aren’t punished for that, so that people can be upfront and honest about their use,” he said.
“We also need to look at other types of treatment for opioid use disorder, because we really haven’t changed an awful lot about what treatments are available for people.”
Meanwhile, data released last week by the federal government shows that while the opioid crisis continues to cause an alarming number of deaths, the outlook could be starting to improve, thanks in part to health interventions that include safe supply, in addition to other prevention and treatment measures.
Previous modelling released in June projected that Canada could see anywhere from 1,400 to 2,400 opioid-related deaths every quarter, based on national surveillance data.
But newly updated projections by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) suggest the death toll could instead range from 1,300 to 2,050, every quarter through to June 2023.
The variations in these projections depend on five different scenarios with varying outcomes, based on whether health interventions could prevent the same proportion of deaths or more and whether the level of fentanyl in the drug supply remains the same or gets worse.
“The results of the model suggest that, under some scenarios, the number of opioid-related deaths through to June 2023 may remain high, or may also decrease, but not to levels seen before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” PHAC states on its website.
A total of 32,632 Canadians have died due to opioids between 2016 and June of this year, according to the latest federal data.
The majority of deaths — 90 per cent — have occurred in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, but high rates were also observed in other regions, according to the data.
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