Cities need national battle plan in opioid war, desperate mayors say

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This article was published 24/05/2017 (2527 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The mayors of Canada’s largest cities called Thursday for national action to tackle the opioid overdose crisis that has claimed thousands of lives across the country.

“Our first responders and community workers are on the front lines of this crisis, and cities are working together to save more lives — but we can’t do this alone. We need a co-ordinated, pan-Canadian response involving all orders of government,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, chairman of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Big-City Mayors’ Caucus task force on the issue.

“We are seeing this crisis impact cities across the country, yet there are no targets to reduce and ultimately end overdose deaths. That needs to change right away, and the first step to doing that is by setting clear targets for reducing deaths that all orders of government work towards.”

In its report released Thursday, the group called for the federal government to immediately establish targets and timelines for the reduction of opioid overdoses and overdose fatalities, with a progress report to be issued in September.

The mayors also pushed for the adoption of a comprehensive national action plan that addresses the root causes of the crisis; expanded access to a range of treatment options, including medically supervised opioid substitution therapy and reducing delays in the time it takes to access treatment; and the establishment of a standardized, national format for the collection of death and non-fatal overdose data, with minimum quarterly public reports.

“I have met and spoken with families here in Winnipeg who have lost loved ones to opioid overdoses, and their main concern has been the availability of treatment options,” said Mayor Brian Bowman, a member of the task force. “The opioid crisis is having an adverse effect on community and emergency services workers in cities across Canada, and mayors from Canada’s biggest cities have come together to recommend ways to address it.

“Without a doubt, a co-ordinated, pan-Canadian solution is needed, but we also need to continue listening to families and those on the front lines to address any unique challenges this crisis poses in each of our cities.”

The task force, launched Feb. 3, convenes the mayors of 13 cities: Vancouver, Surrey, B.C., Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton, London, Ont., Kitchener, Ont., Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The Big-City Mayors’ Caucus is made up of the civic leaders from the nation’s 22 most-populated centres.