Opioid Crisis The Living Legacy Of Public Health Agency’s Neglect – Huffington Post
The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed that 2,923 Canadians died of opioid-related overdose between January and September of 2017.
This article was co-written by Brandi Abele, a counselor with five years of living and working in Northern Saskatchewan, and a former drug user. Brandi represents the Saskatchewan region on the CAPUD national board of directors.
Recently, statistics were released by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) confirmed that 2,923 Canadians died of opioid-related overdose between January and September of 2017. This amounts to approximately 4,000 people dead throughout last year, an unconscionable loss of life, with more people dying than at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Former federal Health Minister Jane Philpott stated publicly last year that the overdose epidemic was “going to get worse before it gets better,” and she was certainly right about that, even if her ministry’s inaction was a contributing factor in a worsening epidemic. The federal government continues to promise to treat the overdose epidemic as a public health issue.
