TORONTO — Fentanyl deaths are on the rise in Ontario, though the province's chief coroner says numbers there aren't as bleak as elsewhere in the country.
Fentanyl overdoses have made headlines in the past year as the deadly opioid has become more widely available.
Chief Coroner Dirk Huyer spoke from a training symposium held by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, where 450 front-line officers and border patrol agents will be trained in the health and public safety challenges posed by fentanyl.
Huyer says fentanyl deaths accounted for nearly 30 per cent of Ontario's fatal opioid overdoses in 2015.
But he says the drug isn't as pervasive in Ontario as it is in other provinces, like British Columbia.
In August, Vancouver police said they dealt with 16 fentanyl overdoses in one night.
