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Global News
5 days ago
- Health
- Global News
More than 2K died of opioids in Ontario last year as numbers trend downward: data
More than 2,200 Ontarians died from opioids last year, a 15 per cent decrease from 2023, newly released data from the Office of the Chief Coroner shows. 'What goes through my head is a small degree of optimism in the fact that we have seen less people die last year, which is very good, but that's within a context of 2,231 people dying last year,' Dr. Dirk Huyer, the chief coroner, told The Canadian Press in an interview. His office had recorded 2,639 opioid deaths in 2023. 'I also have a degree of worry that this is a short interval, for whatever reason that we haven't identified, and that the numbers could potentially get worse again,' Huyer said. The mortality rate from opioid overdoses was 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024. That is down from the peak of 19.4 deaths per 100,000 people at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when opioids took the lives of 2,880 Ontarians. Story continues below advertisement Fentanyl and its related substances were found in more than 83 per cent of opioid toxicity deaths, while stimulants were found in 69 per cent of deaths. Prescription benzodiazepines were seen in 45 per cent of deaths last year, a sharp increase from 33 per cent the year before. Non-prescription benzodiazepines were found in 62 per cent of deaths, slightly down from 66 per cent in 2023. 2:33 Peterborough health officials applaud AMO stance on Ontario's opioid crisis The opioid crisis began to hit Ontario in 2015 and 2016 when illicit fentanyl made its way east from British Columbia. There were 728 opioid deaths in 2015 and by 2018, that doubled to 1,565 deaths. The crisis peaked in the middle of the pandemic. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, declined a request for an interview about opioid deaths in the province. The Canadian Press has asked him on more than a dozen occasions since 2022 to discuss the opioid crisis but he has never agreed to an interview on the subject. Story continues below advertisement Health Minister Sylvia Jones did not respond to an interview request. The Ministry of Health said the province is 'making it easier for people to break the tragic cycle of addiction by expanding access to safe and comprehensive mental health support.' 'Through Ontario's road map to wellness, the government is investing $3.8 billion over 10 years, and $124 million through the addictions recovery fund, supporting 500 new addiction recovery beds, more than 32 youth wellness hubs, over 100 mobile crisis teams, and innovative models of care like mobile clinics,' the ministry said in a statement. Huyer lamented the fact that the province does not precisely know what's behind the decrease in opioid deaths, but postulated that it could be due to a slightly less toxic supply of drugs. 'I wish we knew because then I think everybody would be able to answer the question on where they should be focusing and how to help provide the best for everybody,' he said. Other hallmarks of the Ontario opioid crisis remain unchanged. Men account for 75 per cent of deaths, opioids disproportionally kill marginalized people and one in five opioid overdose deaths across the province occurs in the homeless population. The province has undergone a fundamental shift in its approach to the opioid crisis, which included banning supervised consumption sites it deemed too close to schools and daycares. That legislation came about after a Toronto woman was killed by a stray bullet from a shooting outside one of the sites. Story continues below advertisement One Toronto consumption site challenged that law in court days before it came into effect on April 1. A judge granted an injunction to allow 10 such sites to remain open while he considers his decision. But nine of the 10 sites had already agreed to transition to the province's new abstinence-based model — homelessness and addiction recovery treatment, or HART, hubs — and closed. The province is investing $550 million to fund a total of 28 HART hubs across Ontario, along with 540 new, highly supportive housing units. Liberal health critic Adil Shamji, who still works part time as an emergency department physician and was on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic, said he's disappointed in the province's response. 'But there's no level of disappointment that can approach the level of heartbreak that families across Ontario are experiencing,' he said. The new homelessness and addiction treatment hubs also miss the mark, he said. 'They have no new services to offer and in many cases are underfunded, overwhelmed, and at a very immature stage where they're not able to meet the demand,' Shamji said. He said there's a void of leadership on the file. 'When you have the medical condition that touches on so many different people in so many different walks of life, it speaks to the need for a public health response and for leaders to come out with ambition, boldness and with the seriousness that it deserves,' he said. Story continues below advertisement 'And we're not seeing that from this government, from the minister of health, from public health or the chief medical officer of health.' The Office of the Chief Coroner reported 197 opioid deaths across the province in April, the most recent data available, but stressed that number is very preliminary and will rise since death investigations and toxicology results often taken months to complete.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
More than 2,200 died of opioids in Ontario last year as numbers trend downward: data
TORONTO – More than 2,200 Ontarians died from opioids last year, a 15 per cent decrease from 2023, newly released data from the Office of the Chief Coroner shows. 'What goes through my head is a small degree of optimism in the fact that we have seen less people die last year, which is very good, but that's within a context of 2,231 people dying last year,' Dr. Dirk Huyer, the chief coroner, told The Canadian Press in an interview. His office had recorded 2,639 opioid deaths in 2023. 'I also have a degree of worry that this is a short interval, for whatever reason that we haven't identified, and that the numbers could potentially get worse again,' Huyer said. The mortality rate from opioid overdoses was 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024. That is down from the peak of 19.4 deaths per 100,000 people at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when opioids took the lives of 2,880 Ontarians. Fentanyl and its related substances were found in more than 83 per cent of opioid toxicity deaths, while stimulants were found in 69 per cent of deaths. Prescription benzodiazepines were seen in 45 per cent of deaths last year, a sharp increase from 33 per cent the year before. Non-prescription benzodiazepines were found in 62 per cent of deaths, slightly down from 66 per cent in 2023. The opioid crisis began to hit Ontario in 2015 and 2016 when illicit fentanyl made its way east from British Columbia. There were 728 opioid deaths in 2015 and by 2018, that doubled to 1,565 deaths. The crisis peaked in the middle of the pandemic. Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, declined a request for an interview about opioid deaths in the province. The Canadian Press has asked him on more than a dozen occasions since 2022 to discuss the opioid crisis but he has never agreed to an interview on the subject. Health Minister Sylvia Jones did not respond to an interview request. The Ministry of Health said the province is 'making it easier for people to break the tragic cycle of addiction by expanding access to safe and comprehensive mental health support.' 'Through Ontario's road map to wellness, the government is investing $3.8 billion over 10 years, and $124 million through the addictions recovery fund, supporting 500 new addiction recovery beds, more than 32 youth wellness hubs, over 100 mobile crisis teams, and innovative models of care like mobile clinics,' the ministry said in a statement. Huyer lamented the fact that the province does not precisely know what's behind the decrease in opioid deaths, but postulated that it could be due to a slightly less toxic supply of drugs. 'I wish we knew because then I think everybody would be able to answer the question on where they should be focusing and how to help provide the best for everybody,' he said. Other hallmarks of the Ontario opioid crisis remain unchanged. Men account for 75 per cent of deaths, opioids disproportionally kill marginalized people and one in five opioid overdose deaths across the province occurs in the homeless population. The province has undergone a fundamental shift in its approach to the opioid crisis, which included banning supervised consumption sites it deemed too close to schools and daycares. That legislation came about after a Toronto woman was killed by a stray bullet from a shooting outside one of the sites. One Toronto consumption site challenged that law in court days before it came into effect on April 1. A judge granted an injunction to allow 10 such sites to remain open while he considers his decision. But nine of the 10 sites had already agreed to transition to the province's new abstinence-based model — homelessness and addiction recovery treatment, or HART, hubs — and closed. The province is investing $550 million to fund a total of 28 HART hubs across Ontario, along with 540 new, highly supportive housing units. Liberal health critic Adil Shamji, who still works part time as an emergency department physician and was on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic, said he's disappointed in the province's response. 'But there's no level of disappointment that can approach the level of heartbreak that families across Ontario are experiencing,' he said. The new homelessness and addiction treatment hubs also miss the mark, he said. 'They have no new services to offer and in many cases are underfunded, overwhelmed, and at a very immature stage where they're not able to meet the demand,' Shamji said. He said there's a void of leadership on the file. 'When you have the medical condition that touches on so many different people in so many different walks of life, it speaks to the need for a public health response and for leaders to come out with ambition, boldness and with the seriousness that it deserves,' he said. 'And we're not seeing that from this government, from the minister of health, from public health or the chief medical officer of health.' The Office of the Chief Coroner reported 197 opioid deaths across the province in April, the most recent data available, but stressed that number is very preliminary and will rise since death investigations and toxicology results often taken months to complete. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
5 days ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
More than 2,200 died of opioids in Ontario last year as numbers trend downward: data
TORONTO - More than 2,200 Ontarians died from opioids last year, a 15 per cent decrease from 2023, newly released data from the Office of the Chief Coroner shows. 'What goes through my head is a small degree of optimism in the fact that we have seen less people die last year, which is very good, but that's within a context of 2,231 people dying last year,' Dr. Dirk Huyer, the chief coroner, told The Canadian Press in an interview. His office had recorded 2,639 opioid deaths in 2023. 'I also have a degree of worry that this is a short interval, for whatever reason that we haven't identified, and that the numbers could potentially get worse again,' Huyer said. The mortality rate from opioid overdoses was 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024. That is down from the peak of 19.4 deaths per 100,000 people at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when opioids took the lives of 2,880 Ontarians. Fentanyl and its related substances were found in more than 83 per cent of opioid toxicity deaths, while stimulants were found in 69 per cent of deaths. Prescription benzodiazepines were seen in 45 per cent of deaths last year, a sharp increase from 33 per cent the year before. Non-prescription benzodiazepines were found in 62 per cent of deaths, slightly down from 66 per cent in 2023. The opioid crisis began to hit Ontario in 2015 and 2016 when illicit fentanyl made its way east from British Columbia. There were 728 opioid deaths in 2015 and by 2018, that doubled to 1,565 deaths. The crisis peaked in the middle of the pandemic. Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, declined a request for an interview about opioid deaths in the province. The Canadian Press has asked him on more than a dozen occasions since 2022 to discuss the opioid crisis but he has never agreed to an interview on the subject. Health Minister Sylvia Jones did not respond to an interview request. The Ministry of Health said the province is 'making it easier for people to break the tragic cycle of addiction by expanding access to safe and comprehensive mental health support.' 'Through Ontario's road map to wellness, the government is investing $3.8 billion over 10 years, and $124 million through the addictions recovery fund, supporting 500 new addiction recovery beds, more than 32 youth wellness hubs, over 100 mobile crisis teams, and innovative models of care like mobile clinics,' the ministry said in a statement. Huyer lamented the fact that the province does not precisely know what's behind the decrease in opioid deaths, but postulated that it could be due to a slightly less toxic supply of drugs. 'I wish we knew because then I think everybody would be able to answer the question on where they should be focusing and how to help provide the best for everybody,' he said. Other hallmarks of the Ontario opioid crisis remain unchanged. Men account for 75 per cent of deaths, opioids disproportionally kill marginalized people and one in five opioid overdose deaths across the province occurs in the homeless population. The province has undergone a fundamental shift in its approach to the opioid crisis, which included banning supervised consumption sites it deemed too close to schools and daycares. That legislation came about after a Toronto woman was killed by a stray bullet from a shooting outside one of the sites. One Toronto consumption site challenged that law in court days before it came into effect on April 1. A judge granted an injunction to allow 10 such sites to remain open while he considers his decision. But nine of the 10 sites had already agreed to transition to the province's new abstinence-based model — homelessness and addiction recovery treatment, or HART, hubs — and closed. The province is investing $550 million to fund a total of 28 HART hubs across Ontario, along with 540 new, highly supportive housing units. Liberal health critic Adil Shamji, who still works part time as an emergency department physician and was on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic, said he's disappointed in the province's response. 'But there's no level of disappointment that can approach the level of heartbreak that families across Ontario are experiencing,' he said. The new homelessness and addiction treatment hubs also miss the mark, he said. 'They have no new services to offer and in many cases are underfunded, overwhelmed, and at a very immature stage where they're not able to meet the demand,' Shamji said. He said there's a void of leadership on the file. 'When you have the medical condition that touches on so many different people in so many different walks of life, it speaks to the need for a public health response and for leaders to come out with ambition, boldness and with the seriousness that it deserves,' he said. 'And we're not seeing that from this government, from the minister of health, from public health or the chief medical officer of health.' The Office of the Chief Coroner reported 197 opioid deaths across the province in April, the most recent data available, but stressed that number is very preliminary and will rise since death investigations and toxicology results often taken months to complete. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
CBC
01-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
First Nation in Ontario has no space for alcohol-drug detox centre, so dozens being helped at a hotel
Social Sharing Community support worker Kyle Arnold says detoxing from drugs is one of the hardest things he's ever done, but seeing dozens of members of Long Lake #58 First Nation going through withdrawal together in a safe space "is absolutely beautiful." Long Lake #58 is an Ojibway community about 300 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont. On Friday, 42 of its members arrived at the NorWester Hotel and Conference Centre — which is partially owned by the First Nation — to participate in a 10-day detox program. The community has booked more than 50 hotel rooms, where participants receive on-site medical and social support and hourly room checks, as they go through withdrawal from alcohol or drugs and prepare for a full treatment program. "Generally when people go into a detox … it's with strangers. This, they're here with family members, with community members, with people they grew up with," said Arnold, a longtime advocate. "It creates a sense of trust right off the bat where they can be vulnerable and they can open up." Fewer than 600 people live in Long Lake #58, with the majority of members living in Thunder Bay or Winnipeg. The First Nation does not have a dedicated detox centre in the community and the only such facility in the northwestern Ontario city has just 25 beds. Long Lake #58 First Nation supports dozens of its members as they detox 15 minutes ago Duration 2:10 Long Lake #58 First Nation is supporting 42 of its members at the NorWester Hotel and Conference Centre in Thunder Bay, Ont., while they receive on-site medical and social support to detox from alcohol and drugs. After the 10-day detox, they will go to treatment and then participate in cultural, land-based healing back home. Here's how the community hopes this model sets a precedent for other First Nations. This isn't the first time the First Nation has brought people to the hotel to help them. Noreen Agnew, the First Nation's band representative manager, said the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns shone a light on how many people were struggling with alcoholism and addiction. "People started talking about how they were tired of living that life. They were tired of just struggling with addictions and trauma, so we developed a program that would help our community," Agnew said. That program — the Better Together Wellness Strategy — aims to encourage collective healing through sharing circles and other cultural programming. "They're doing it together, right? They're able to be stronger, support each other and connect with each other," said Agnew. Benefits of medical withdrawals The Thunder Bay district — which includes Long Lake #58 — has the highest opioid-related death rate in the province, according to Ontario's Office of the Chief Coroner. Detoxification clears the body of harmful substances and is typically one of the first steps in addiction treatment. During the process, the mind and body go through several changes while adjusting to the lack of substance use. This can result in withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, nausea, feeling restless or agitated and intense cravings, while putting people at risk of seizures or heart failure. "So many different medical issues come into play, right, when you take that substance away that your body is so used to," said Arnold. "Having a nurse practitioner here gives people the opportunity to safely withdraw in a supported environment." He said that for the Long Lake #58 community members at the hotel, the first few days were challenging, but they're starting to feel better. "We're starting to see people [have] that life come back into them, in the colour of their skin and the smiles, the laughter," he said. "That's the benefit of going through a medical withdrawal." Support workers are also available at the hotel to help people sign up for Indian status cards and provincial health cards, as well as connect with child and family services. Inspiration for other First Nations Before they could come to Thunder Bay, participants had to complete pre-detox sessions to show their commitment to the program. After the 10-day detox, they will complete a two- to three-week treatment program at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care in Thunder Bay, and then return home for land-based, cultural healing. "Once you get them stabilized, they need to be able to connect to the community and continue their healing, as far as having sweats, and drumming and continuing that connection to the culture," Agnew said. Arnold's hope is that Long Lake #58's model inspires other First Nations without on-site detox facilities to do a similar initiative. "Look at the trust that that builds among their members," he said. "I think it's groundbreaking and I hope that other communities can learn from it and more people can get supported." His message for those starting their recovery journey? "There's nobody that's ever too far gone."
CBC
03-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Ottawa to spend over $3M on mental health, addictions support in northwestern Ontario
Funding split across 4 projects in region The federal government says it will spend more than $3 million to support mental health and addictions outreach efforts in northwestern Ontario. Ya'ara Saks, federal minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister of health, made the announcement on Friday in Thunder Bay, Ont., at city hall. The city has the highest opioid-related death rate in the province, according to the latest information from the Office of the Chief Coroner. At a rate of 78.16 deaths per 100,000 population in the first half of 2024, that's more than five times the provincial average of 15.7 deaths per 100,000 population. As the region's only supervised consumption site, Path 525, closes at the end of March in Thunder Bay, a new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub is slated to open in its place. "I know how much this community cares about saving lives and being on the front and centre in northern Ontario of the overdose crisis in the illicit toxic drug supply that is harming so many communities," Saks said. "There's too many Canadians who lost their lives to this tragic and unrelenting public health crisis that has touched the lives of too many families, friends, neighbours and loved ones." $237,960 for the City of Thunder Bay and NorWest Community Health Centres (NWCHC) to expand mobile outreach services and create an encampment response team. $1,909,367 for Marten Falls First Nation to provide a mobile response unit for crisis outreach, counselling, culturally-relevant programming, and connections to treatment. $141,875 for Beendigen Inc. to purchase a community mobile unit to offer harm reduction services. In all, the Emergency Treatment Fund includes more than $11 million for 14 projects across Canada, Saks said. More than 350 project applications were received, over 70 per cent of which came from Indigenous communities. "Meeting people where they are at with programs and projects that make sense, that open doors, that help people when they need it in that moment," said Saks. "Because if it's not today that we help them, if it's not today that we don't talk, that we don't reach out to them, what will happen tomorrow?" Outreach work and on-site support Rilee Willianen, the city's encampment response lead, said the new encampment response team will allow the city to lead outreach efforts in tent communities, supporting its human rights based approach to homelessness. "[It] will connect with the folks who are living in the encampments and build relationships with them so eventually, they can be in a place to improve their circumstances," Willianen said. "This funding will help support us to do that, which will help us then to address encampments, which also then helps to address public health and public safety concerns." While a number of organizations provide support at the city's encampments already, Willianen said having the city partner with NWCHC allows it to expand its involvement in an effective and appropriate way. "One of our benefits as a smaller community is that we all work really well together, so this is just a further demonstration of how important it is to work together and to continue doing that work in a good way." As for the EFSNWO, executive director Lindsay Martin said the funding is supporting the operational costs of hiring more staff; namely, a substance use health co-ordinator, two full-time peer support workers and one part-time peer support worker. The organization supports women and gender-diverse people involved in the criminal justice system, many of whom are experiencing homelessness, mental health or addiction issues. The staff members will be at EFSNWO's transitional housing units to provide on-site support, Martin said. "It will be really impactful to help support the key population of those leaving incarceration and those who are unhoused and to be able to support them on their substance use journey in an alternative sort of non-clinical type of way," they explained. The organization takes a harm reduction approach to addiction, which means supporting people who are in active addiction by reducing the harms around substance use. Examples of this are providing new needles, sterile drug equipment, and naloxone kits which are used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. While the province has scaled back harm reduction with the upcoming closure of supervised consumption sites — as HART hubs will not allow supervised drug consumption, needle exchange or safer supply programs — Martin said it's an integral part of addiction services. "It's really key to be able to support them wherever they're at on their journey and not always directing somebody into a formatted, prescribed, forced recovery process when they're not necessarily ready," said Martin. "It's not about what a government's looking for. It's not a public health directive. It's individual."
