OTTAWA — B.C. Premier Christy Clark is meeting with federal health and public safety ministers in Ottawa to talk about Canada's opioid crisis in advance of this week's summit meeting in the national capital.
Last spring, British Columbia became the first province in the country to declare a public health emergency following a dramatic spike in overdose deaths related to the use of drugs such as fentanyl.
Opioids include prescription painkillers such as oxycodone and morphine as well as illegal street drugs like heroin.
The two-day summit, which starts Friday, will be co-hosted by Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins and federal counterpart Jane Philpott.
The event will bring together health experts from across the country to examine issues including harm reduction and how to reduce addiction rates.
Canada and the U.S. have the highest rates of opioid use in the world, and Philpott says the root causes must be examined to explain why that is the case.
A LOOK AT HOW UP TO DATE PROVINCES KEEP THEIR OPIOID-OVERDOSE NUMBERS
British Columbia: October 2016
In the first 10 months of 2016, there were 622 unintentional overdose deaths from illicit drugs in British Columbia. Of those deaths that occurred before October, 332 were linked to fentanyl.
Alberta: October 2016
From the beginning of 2016 to Oct. 27, 338 Albertans died from an apparent drug overdose related to an opioid. Fentanyl was involved in 193 of them.
Saskatchewan: September 2016, incomplete
Saskatchewan reported a total of 18 opioid overdoses in the first nine months of 2016, including two accidental deaths involving fentanyl. However, those numbers exclude deaths that are still under investigation. 2015 saw far greater numbers, with 21 fentanyl-related deaths out of 86 opioid fatalities.
Manitoba: unclear
A government spokeswoman said Manitoba's health department has no mechanism in place to track overdoses. She said the province's medical examiner's office reports there are about 150 overdoses a year and that some of those deaths are caused by opioids, including fentanyl. The medical examiner's office did not reply to a request for more information.
Ontario: 2015, preliminary numbers
Ontario released its preliminary overdose numbers for 2015 a few weeks ago, but a department spokeswoman said the tally won't be finalized until sometime in 2017. Last year saw 529 opioid deaths across the province and 162 of those were related to fentanyl.
Quebec: unknown
Quebec did not reply to repeated requests for data.
New Brunswick: 2015
New Brunswick reported seven instances in 2015 where opioids were the direct cause of death, as well as 10 cases where opioids were detected alongside other substances. The province didn't break out the number of deaths where fentanyl was discovered. The 2016 figures were not readily available.
Prince Edward Island: 2014
The most recent data available for Prince Edward Island are for 2014, when there were four opioid-related deaths.
Nova Scotia: unclear
Opioid statistics aren't readily available in Nova Scotia, though the province's chief medical officer reported late last month that at least 70 people died of opioid-related overdoses in the first eight months of 2016.
Newfoundland and Labrador: 2015
There were 20 drug-related accidental deaths in 2015. Eighteen of those tested positive for opioids, five of which contained fentanyl.
