A report released today shows a shocking number of deaths by opioid use over the last four years in Canada.
According to data from a national advisory committee assigned to the opioid overdose epidemic, there have been almost 14,000 deaths since 2016.
Canada’s chief public-health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, and Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, issued a joint statement saying many of the deaths were caused by Canada’s illegal drug supply being contaminated with toxic substances.
“To have a significant and lasting impact, we need to continue working together on whole-of-society changes,” the statement said.
“This includes addressing the stigma that surrounds substance use, implementing further harm-reduction measures and reducing barriers to treatment. It also means continuing to work together to better understand and address the drivers of this crisis, such as mental illness, and social and economic factors that put Canadians at increased risk.”
The data also shows thousands of Canadians continue to have non-fatal overdoses each year and hundreds of thousands more are affected by problematic substance use.
In addition to the nearly 14,000 deaths, they’ve recorded more than 17,000 hospitalizations for opioid-related poisoning.
Data also shows that 94% of opioid deaths in the first six months of 2019 were accidental.
Western Canada continues to be the most affected by the opioid crisis, but Ontario has also seen a rise in opioid-related deaths, according to the data.
