Alberta opposition demands extraordinary measures to fight fentanyl overdoses
EDMONTON — Alberta’s opposition parties say the government is failing in the fight against opioids like fentanyl and must declare a public health emergency.
Members of all four opposition parties say such a declaration would free up resources and co-ordinate the work of the multiple agencies involved.
The province says 343 people died in Alberta from apparent fentanyl overdoses last year — a 25 per cent increase from 257 deaths in 2015. The total number of deaths was 117 the year before that.
“We’re not getting a handle on this,” Liberal Leader David Swann said Monday at a legislature news conference. “It this were an influenza outbreak, you would see a state of emergency called.”