Provincial campaigns urged to address growing opioid crisis

With the number of opioid-related visits to Ottawa emergency departments exceeding 1,000 last year, the director of a harm reduction program says provincial political parties should pledge to expand access to programs that provide a safer supply of drugs.

Rob Boyd, director of the Oasis , also said the four supervised consumption sites in Ottawa weren't enough to keep up with the demand.

“I think we seriously underestimate the need or the number of the people who would want to use the services,” Boyd said Friday.

Boyd said more people could benefit from harm-reduction programs than service providers could accommodate. He doesn't believe the opioid crisis has received enough attention during the provincial election campaign

Boyd said one area deserving of attention from the province was expanding people's access to safer-supply programs.

The regulated drugs are alternatives to toxic drugs sold on the streets and the program gives people access to health-care professionals.

Boyd described another challenge when it came to opioid agonist treatment.

The Ontario Progressive Conservative government capped the number of supervised consumption sites at 21 early in its last mandate.

The PCS are running on the budget they presented in April. It called for “employers with a known risk” to provide naloxone kits and training in workplaces. The document also said there would be another $204 million for mental health and addiction services.

The NDP platform says that party would declare a public health emergency for the opioid crisis and remove the cap on supervised consumption sites. The NDP would “work to ensure safer alternatives to the current toxic and deadly supply of drugs available on the street” and work with the federal government to decriminalize personal drug use.

The Liberal platform proposes $300 million for opioid addiction services. The Liberals would lift the cap on supervised consumption sites and “reactivate” the Opioid Emergency Task Force.

The Green Party's platform talks about “housing first” in its plank on addictions and says the party would declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency and “reboot” the opioid task force.