Simmering anger permeates Overdose Awareness Day rally

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This article was published 31/08/2022 (1368 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More than 100 people gathered on the Manitoba legislature grounds Wednesday afternoon — many of them grieving loved ones killed by addictions, many of them angry.

“I know more now about drugs than I ever wanted to know,” said Barb Ashley, her voice trembling. “I want to ask (government officials): what are you going to do? What if it was your child?”

Ashley’s son, Robert, died of an accidental overdose in January 2018.

He is one of nearly 2,000 other Manitobans who’ve died from substance use since 2014 — including 407 last year alone.

The data, released by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in April, highlights a disturbing trend in the province, which has logged two consecutive years of record-breaking drug-related deaths.

Robert, 26, was on a waiting list to get treatment from the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba. Intake workers from the Crown-owned agency found him a spot a few days before his death.

“They called while he was in a coma in the hospital,” she said. “We told them, ‘It’s too late. Give it to someone else.’”

Ashley described the number of drug-related deaths plaguing the province as a “forgotten epidemic” public officials often overlook.

The event at the legislature marked the 21st annual International Overdose Awareness Day. Ashley — and others like her — called for government interventions, including more efficient access to treatment centres and supervised consumption sites.

Addictions advocate Arlene Last-Kolb spoke at the event. Her son, Jessie, died at 24 after unknowingly consuming fentanyl in 2014.

Last-Kolb believes drug supplies should be government regulated to ensure safety, similar to how alcohol is managed.

“Drug toxicity is killing our loved ones every day,” she said. “We will never treatment our way out of this. We will never police our way out of this… If we do not speak up to our premier, nothing will change. It’s unacceptable. People have to get angry.”

Premier Heather Stefanson did not attend the event but spoke with a Free Press reporter at a separate news event.

“(Addiction is) very real, and it hurts so many, so many families, and we’ve taken that very, very seriously,” she said.

The Progressive Conservative government is not convinced safe consumption sites will improve addiction outcomes, and is concerned they may unintentionally increase criminal activity in surrounding areas, she said.

The viewpoint is at odds with messaging from Health Canada, which identifies the supervised sites as a way to save lives and connect people to treatments.

“Our focus is really on wanting to move people off of their addictions… Right now, our focus has been and will continue to be on investing more in (rapid access to addictions medicine) clinics,” Stefanson said. “My heart goes out to all of those who have lost loved ones to this horrible disease.”

Last-Kolb was critical of the idea.

“I don’t think our government has anything to be proud of right now,” she said. “We need to offer a safer supply, and to talk about anything else is putting the cart before the horse.”

RAAM clinics have been criticized by drug users and addiction advocates for their short operating hours and limited capacity. The province committed $1 million to expand RAAM services in this year’s $7.2-billion health-care budget.

Manitoba currently has a total of six clinics located in Winnipeg, Selkirk, Brandon, Thompson and Portage la Prairie.

A vigil honouring people lost to drug use was held Wednesday evening at a memorial garden on Waterfront Drive.

The Augustine United Church, RBC Convention Centre, Investors Group Field and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights showed support by lighting their respective buildings with purple lights.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca