Statement from the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health on the Overdose Crisis

OTTAWA, ON, March 23, 2022 /CNW/ - Today's release of national data on opioid and stimulant-related overdose deaths and other harms highlights the continued tragic impacts of the increasingly toxic drug supply and how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the overdose crisis. With on average 20 people dying, and 17 hospitalized every day from January to September 2021, it is clear the toll this crisis is taking, as these numbers are heartbreaking, and we empathize with the grief felt by friends, families, and communities that have lost loved ones. 

Our Government recognizes that substance use is a public health issue, not an issue for the criminal justice system. It is shaped by complex factors, including physical and mental health, and social determinants of health such as access to housing, income, and culturally appropriate and accessible substance use and mental health services.

As the first federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, I am working to lead a whole-of-society approach to address problematic substance use in Canada. That means working with a wide variety of representatives ranging from stakeholder organizations, community-based service providers, people with lived and living experience, health care experts, families, community advocates, Indigenous representatives, law enforcement, and provincial, territorial, and municipal counterparts to listen to their concerns, learn from their experiences and in order to take action together.

Our partners are united in their commitment to support individuals who use substances, and have the experience and expertise needed to develop and implement an effective plan to respond to the overdose crisis, decrease the stigma often faced by people who use substances, and save lives.

To make a lasting difference, our actions must take a multifaceted and collaborative approach. Just this month, our Government announced that, in partnership with the Standards Council of Canada, we are working on the development of national standards for mental health and substance use. This is the first step in formalizing what Canadians and Indigenous Peoples can expect in the most appropriate care related to mental health and substance use across the country. While recovery will look different for everyone, meeting people who use drugs where they are at is critical to ensuring they receive the compassionate, timely, stigma-free and trauma informed support they need.

We are investing in harm reduction-focused interventions to prevent overdose deaths in many parts of Canada. Naloxone access and training, supervised consumption sites and safer supply programs are preventing and reversing opioid overdoses and saving lives. Just last week, we announced a $3.5 million investment into extending four safer supply programs in Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto. With this additional funding, these pilot projects will continue to provide prescribed medications as an alternative to the toxic drug supply as well as offer services that support people who use drugs. Our Government will continue to support life-saving initiatives like these across the country, while working to build safe and healthy communities everywhere.

The pandemic has highlighted the gaps that exist in our health system and social safety net, and all orders of government, stakeholders, and communities across the country need to increase efforts to bridge these gaps, meet the diverse needs of people who use drugs, and save lives.

We need to do more – and we will do more. We must help Canadians receive the life-saving substance use and health supports they need that are safe, culturally appropriate, and trauma-informed. 

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, P.C., M.P.

Relevant links

Helping people who use substances during COVID-19
Federal actions on opioids to date

SOURCE Health Canada

Maja Staka, Office of the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, 343-552-5568; Media Relations: Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]