Dear Editor,
In the above article, Mr. Barlow states that he is spearheading an Opioid Crisis Working Group because “it’s something we couldn’t ignore.” But, from January 2016 to June 2020, Canada reported 17602 deaths by opioid toxicity. Nationally, suicide rates have been about 11000 deaths per year over this same period. Three people a day are dying from opioid toxicity in Alberta. These statistics suggest he has been ignoring these issues for years.
He further states that “The working group has hit the ground running.” With about 20 Conservative MP’s interviewing “stakeholders”. It is unclear who these “stakeholders” are, but there is plenty of evidence-based data available already. Groups of experts and people with lived experience have been imploring governments to implement action.
Mr. Barlow stated the appointment of mental health and addiction ministers in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan “helps to bridge the gaps.” This seems contrary to what has happened in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The Saskatchewan Party unanimously voted down Bill 618, The Saskatchewan Strategy for Suicide Prevention Act,” in 2020.
This was followed by lengthy protests and a hunger strike. In Alberta, Ministers Shandro and Luan have been cutting funding and removing safe injection sites, which Mr. Barlow described as “perpetuating cycle[s] and doesn’t actually get people into recovery”. This is blatantly false.
Evidence has clearly determined that safe injection sites save lives and get people to treatment. Please explain to me how the dead access treatment?
He declared the “criminal justice system” to be part of the answer. There is overwhelming evidence, gathered over 40 years, demonstrating catastrophic outcomes from the “war on drugs” It has been extremely costly and done more harm than good. On January 28, Chief Larkin, president of the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs, called for decriminalization, stating that “criminalization has disproportionately affected the marginalized and people of colour, and there’s now awareness that addictions are a mental health issue.”
Some of the biggest challenges are stigma and misinformation, which Mr. Barlow and some of his provincial cohorts seem determined to propagate. The overdose crisis must be declared a national public health emergency, and a pan-Canadian action plan must be developed.
Canada needs multi-focal mental health initiatives and a national suicide prevention act. Evidence-based research, in-depth understanding of systemic discriminations, anti-poverty provisions and adequate government funding must provide the foundations. Research is conclusive and the time for politicians to act is long overdue.
Evelyn Violoni
Turner Valley
