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HomeNewsNDP’s West call for action rejected– opioid overdose crisis in the North

NDP’s West call for action rejected– opioid overdose crisis in the North

Jamie West, the NDP MPP for Sudbury says lives are being ripped apart and front-line health workers are warning the public that additives in opioids in the North are putting more lives at risk.

West’s riding of Sudbury has experienced a spike in opioid-related emergency room visits and deaths over the last year.
From January to June 2019, Greater Sudbury paramedics responded to 262 suspected opioid-related incidents and for the same period in 2018, they responded to 67 opioid-related incidents.

West tabled a motion for debate in Queen’s Park, which also includes funding evidence-based health initiatives like overdose prevention sites, mental health care, harm reduction strategies, residential treatment, anti-stigma training, and awareness programs.

And currently, Northern Ontario only has one overdose prevention site located in Thunder Bay.

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West was joined by Marion Quigley, the Outgoing Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Mental Health Association Sudbury/Manitoulin, who supports the motion and spoke about the need for more services to address the opioid crisis in the North.

“This crisis affects us all and we need to address the issue together so all citizens have good timely access to treatment and supports,” said Quigley.

“Communities, health care organizations and frontline health workers need a provincial partner to join them in helping people impacted by this crisis. Instead, the Ford government has been nothing short of cruel thus far. The Conservatives have cut public health funding, placed an arbitrary cap on the number of overdose prevention sites in Ontario, and are forcing frontline responders who are already run off their feet to do more with fewer resources,” said West.

“In my community of Sudbury and across the North, rates of opioid use and overdoses have skyrocketed,” said West. “People are in very real life-and-death struggles. Northerners need urgent action to ensure people have the supports they need to stay safe and healthy.”

However, the Ford government voted it down and the motion has died on the floor.

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