Groups rally for government effort towards overdoses on National Day of Action
Posted Feb 21, 2017 04:20:38 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Local organizations marched in cities across the country on Tuesday for the ‘National Day of Action’ on the overdose crisis in Canada.
Marches took place everywhere from Vancouver to Toronto to Halifax– and although nothing official was held in Kitchener-Waterloo, overdose deaths are not a rare occurrence here in recent years.
“There’s no reason to think that Waterloo is an island and that we’re immune to what’s happening in other communities,” says Michael Parkinson, with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council. “In 2015 we lost 24 people to an opioid related overdose. Most of those deaths were accidental, and most of those deaths were preventable.”
That 24 is part of the 700 deaths that year in Ontario alone, with more across the other provinces.
“And what we have not seen is an urgent and proportional response similar to what we would put in place for other important but less common forms of death and injury like SARS or influenza or motor vehicle collisions for example,” Parkinson adds.
He says those marching are hoping for the government to ramp up the urgency and response actions to this issue, but that it won’t be a simple solution, and everyone has to be on board.
Some fear the lack of response so far is due to the stigma of assuming only drug addicts can overdose on opioids, but Parkinson says if laced with fentanyl, anyone can be affected by a deadly dose, from addicts, to casual users, to those with medical prescriptions.
“For those who want to advocate for an urgent change, people can get involved in local initiatives, write letters and talk to their local MP’s and MPP’s and health funders. It really will take an all hands on deck to pull us out of this crisis.”
He concludes that it’s important to always have a Naloxone kit when using opioids, whatever the region, and if you are concerned about an addiction, to get on a waiting list for help.
The best defense is education, which is why Parkinson is taking part in a three part series on Rogers TV regarding the opioid crisis, the first of which airs Tuesday night at 6 p.m. on Rogers TV.
