VICTORIA, BC - Moms Stop the Harm (MSTH) spokesperson and co-founder Leslie McBain said, “We want to know how many more of our loved ones have to die before governments take the opioid crisis seriously,” in response to figures released today by the Public Health Agency of Canada on the number of opioid-related deaths in 2019.

The agency reported 3,823 deaths in 2019, bringing the total number of fatalities to 15,393 in the last four years alone.

McBain said that this year’s death toll is likely to be worse due to social isolation, an increasingly toxic drug supply and reduced harm reduction, treatment and recovery services. In some provinces and territories, the number of overdose deaths will likely be more than the number of people to die from COVID-19.

“That’s right, we have more than one national public health emergency on our hands and we think it’s time for the federal government to acknowledge this by declaring it as one so that it is taken seriously and funded appropriately,” said McBain.

“We call for urgent action to end the criminalization of people who use drugs because it causes them to use and die alone,” said McBain. “We also call for community-driven, lower barrier models for safer supply, which allow people to replace toxic street drugs with safer pharmaceutical alternatives.”

McBain noted that safer supply could be implemented right now in all provinces, based on new federal “pandemic prescribing” guidelines, but most provincial governments lack the political will to do so. “They choose to ignore the fact that dead people don’t recover,” she said.

“We need urgent action so that our children, family and friends don’t die before they are able to get help,” said McBain. “Our loved ones don't have to die. Most opioid related deaths are preventable. We can fix this, but governments need to do more. A lot more.”

“At the moment, there is no comprehensive pan-Canadian plan to address the opioid crisis. This is a shameful and heartbreaking state of affairs. As a society, we need to do better,” said McBain.

MSTH is a network of Canadian families impacted by substance use related harms and deaths. We advocate to change failed drug policies and provide peer support to grieving families and those with loved ones who use or have used substances.

For more information, contact Info@momsstoptheharm.com

Leslie McBain, Pender Island, BC - Deborah Hale Bailey, Vancouver, BC - Helen Jennens, Kelowna, BC - Petra Schulz, Edmonton, AB - Angela Welz, Edmonton, AB - Marie Agioritis, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Sheila Jennings, Toronto, ON - Christine Wingate, Ottawa, ON - Isabelle Fortier, Montreal, QC