Health experts, politicians look to address national opioid epidemic at summit
Posted November 18, 2016 4:30 am.
Last Updated November 18, 2016 8:29 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canada’s opioid epidemic will be front and centre Friday in Ottawa, where politicians will meet with members of the medical community with the common goal of curbing drug addiction and saving lives.
The two-day summit meeting is being co-chaired by federal Health Minister Jane Philpott and Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins, both of whom are doctors themselves.
Hoskins says the summit will reinforce the need for leadership right across the country to confront Canada’s opioid epidemic.
He says the problem is affecting different parts of Canada in different ways, but it demands a national solution.
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Philpott says the federal Liberal government has been very active on the file, adding that Canadians are dying everyday due to opioid use and abuse.
She says she has made it “very clear” she is unhappy with a lack of data and surveillance programs that could shed light on how many opioids are prescribed, where they are coming from and how many people are overdosing and dying.
The Trudeau Liberals are also facing pressure from B.C. Premier Christy Clark to take additional measures to stop the flow of fentanyl from China — a drug that prompted that province to declare a public health emergency last spring.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says the issue demands international co-operation, as well as additional personnel and technology on the domestic front.
