Two more suspected drug overdoses on Tuesday in city

17 drug poisoning deaths so far this year, but no proposal for a supervised drug consumption and treatment centre here has been submitted to province

There were two more deaths in Peterborough on Tuesday suspected to have been from drug poisonings, said medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra on Wednesday, bringing the total of these deaths to 17 so far this year in the city.

Of those 17 deaths, eight occurred between May 1 and June 2, Salvaterra said.

An investigation is being conducted to determine the “common factors behind these deaths,” Salvaterra said. There are “multiple factors” contributing to the rash of deaths, she added. Salvaterra and other health officials are seeking to learn more.

One of those factors may be closed borders in the pandemic, one health promoter told reporters last week. Deanna Vandenbroek of Peterborough Public Health said last week that the local drug supply is limited due to closed borders — and it means some people may start using drugs they’ve not used before, such as the more-potent fentanyl, for which they may have a lower tolerance.

A surge in drug poisonings is also happening elsewhere in Ontario, Salvaterra said.

“We are not alone in this crisis: several other communities, including Guelph and Toronto, have recently seen spikes,” she said.

Both people who died on Tuesday died in homes, Salvaterra said.

“So using (drugs) at home is a serious risk — and not using alone can be an important life-saving measure,” she said. “If you do know someone using drugs, please check on them.”

Salvaterra, who was speaking at a virtual press conference with reporters on Wednesday, also said she supports a call for a safer drug supply that was made

recently by Toronto medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa.

It would mean fewer people at risk of dying from contaminated drugs obtained on the street, she said, adding that the local board of health has already asked the federal and provincial governments to legalize a safe supply of opioids “as one part of a comprehensive approach that is needed.”

Meanwhile there’s no supervised drug consumption and treatment centre in Peterborough — though some people are working on trying to get one here.

A group of local advocates, health officials and politicians have been working together for more than a year to apply for approval and funding from the provincial government for a centre.

Salvaterra said on Wednesday a centre is “urgently needed.”

Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith wasn’t at the virtual press conference, but later in the day told The Examiner no proposal for a centre has been submitted yet for lack of a location.

A proposal to the government would be incomplete without an address, and Smith said it’s been challenging to find a landlord willing to rent a space suitable for the purpose.

The one willing landlord so far did not have a suitable space, Smith said.

The empty rear portion of the Growers Retail building on George Street might’ve been available, but provincial officials turned it down because it would have meant putting the centre (which is expected to offer drug treatment) under the same roof as a legal cannabis store.

Although Minister of Women and Gender Equality Maryam Monsef was at the virtual press conference, she only spoke of the opioid crisis in an interview later in the day.

“My heart is with the families who are grieving loved ones,” she said.

Monsef also said she supports the harm-reduction approach suggested by public health officials, and that she expects to make a further announcement about the issue shortly. Meanwhile, Mayor Diane Therrien was at the virtual press conference on Wednesday and she thanked local health officials for working not only on the pandemic but also on the ongoing opioid crisis.

“It (the opioid crisis) is taking a significant number of lives, particularly as people deal with mental health and addictions in the context of also dealing with COVID-19.”