September 25th, 2017

NDP Leader Horwath backs call for state of emergency declaration in opioid crisis

Andrea Horwath is backing the call for a state of emergency to be declared to combat the growing opioid crisis; a call that’s among the urgent measures that will be discussed today by the Toronto Board of Health.

The Toronto Drug Strategy Implementation Panel is recommending that the Board of Health call on the provincial government to immediately declare an emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

“How many people – some just kids, really – need to be hospitalized or lose their lives before the government considers this to be an emergency?” Horwath asked. “We need a plan that’s responsive to quickly changing dynamics, and we need all levels of government to work together to get the necessary funding to the front lines right now. This is about saving lives.”

The emergency declaration would allow funding to move quickly to where it’s needed most. The NDP began calling for a declaration in August in response to a rising number of overdose hospitalizations and deaths.

“There is so much more than can be done by the provincial government to work with the City of Toronto,” said Horwath. “The city and all those health care and community workers on the front lines of this emergency need a provincial government that’s there as a partner in saving lives and making neighbourhoods safer – not a provincial government that resists requests for faster help.”