OTTAWA – MPs on the House of Commons health committee unanimously passed an emergency motion Thursday calling for a study of Canada’s opioid overdose crisis.
The decision follows the release this week of B.C. statistics showing there were 488 overdose deaths in the first eight months of 2016, compared to 505 for the entire 2015 calendar year.
The motion was passed by Don Davies, the New Democratic Party health critic and MP for Vancouver-Kingsway.
He cited one estimate that roughly 2,000 Canadians are expected to die this year as the crisis spreads east from B.C. and Alberta.
“Canada is going through a deadly opioid crisis so severe and widespread that few Canadians are untouched by it,” Davies said in a statement.
“It is imperative that Parliament looks into this crisis and proposes concrete steps the government can take to address the situation.”
Health Minister Jane Philpott announced last month a planned autumn “summit” to address the matter.
Ottawa has also agreed to act on a bill passed in the Senate calling on Health Canada to restrict access to six chemicals used to make fentanyl, the potent opioid at the centre of the crisis.
Davies said Ottawa should take further steps, starting with repeal or amendment of Conservative legislation that created major hurdles for any Canadian community seeking to follow Vancouver’s lead and create a supervised injection site.
The MP also tried unsuccessfully earlier this week to get Liberals to expand the breadth of a “Good Samaritan” bill being advanced by B.C. Liberal MP Ron McKinnon, who represents Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam.
The bill would give anyone immunity from prosecution for drug possession charges to anyone who contacted authorities to assist someone suffering from a drug overdose.
Davies said that bill should be expanded to include other drug-related offences, like trafficking, so a broader range of people would be encouraged to dial 911 in order to save the life of someone in their midst.
Twitter: @poneilinottawa
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