Cambridge Mayor says State of Emergency not out of the question for regional opioid crisis

“I think when you have 71 people who have died from overdoses last year, and we’re on track this year to have even higher numbers, I think we have to come to terms with the fact that there’s a crisis in the regional community.”

That, from Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig, who tells The Mike Farwell Show the opioid crisis spans the whole region and the province too.

He says it’s time to call it what it is and put together a “public game plan” to deal with it, including seeking help from the provincial and federal governments to get more funding and resources.

The question is, is the region in a position to declare that State of Emergency?

Craig posed the question during a council meeting Tuesday night to Region of Waterloo CAO Mike Murray.

“Does this fall within the guidelines of the declaration?” he queried.

And he says they need to move quickly, in terms of “demonstrating to the public what we’re planning to do and how we’re going to help cope with this issue that we’re now dealing with.”

He says the overdoses are creating a lot of unfortunate deaths throughout the region.

Craig adds by making a declaration, it can set the stage for quick action to happen.

“We need to deal with it.”

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today