Trudeau says work to address opioids is a priority

HAMILTON — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told an Ontario city hard-hit by the national opioid crisis that situations like theirs were a top priority for his government, as a municipal official called for more concrete steps to address the root causes of addiction.

New figures show the city of Hamilton saw 70 opioid-related deaths between January and October last year, with an ad- ditional five deaths classified as “probable” opioid-related fatalities. That compared to 41 confirmed opioid-related deaths for the same period in 2016.

The city said its opioid-death rate for last year’s period was 78 per cent higher than the provincial rate. In 2016, it said its rate was 48 per cent higher than Ontario’s.

Trudeau, who was in Hamilton Tuesday as part of a tour through some of Canada’s major steel-producing communities, said the government is taking action to try and curb the deadly trend.

“We know that we have to address this. This is getting to be more and more of a problem,” he said.

Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, medical officer of health for Hamilton, said Ottawa has already made many commendable moves to help curb overdose death rates that are surging across the country, but urged the government to look at the factors that lead to addiction in the first place.

The recently released federal budget earmarked $231.4 million to tackle the problem across the country, with a large chunk dedicated to measures such as public health campaigns, data tracking and border security measures. Richardson said those measures are necessary, but urged the government to look deeper.

“There needs to be continued focus on what do we do to stop people from being in a position where they are finding drugs as a way of managing their physical and emotional pain,” Richardson said.