In the Sault, federal Addictions Minister gets up-close view of local opioid crisis

Canada’s minister of Mental Health and Addictions says she came to listen during her first-ever visit to the Sault — a city that for years has experienced a higher-than-usual rate of death by opioid toxicity.

Ya'ara Saks, the federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, was in the Sault on Monday for a funding announcement, as well as a round-table discussion at the Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre with local leaders at the forefront of the opioid crisis in the Sault.

Around that table were Mayor Matthew Shoemaker, MP Terry Sheehan, Social Services CEO Mike Nadeau, Chief Karen Bell of Garden River First Nation, Chief Mark McCoy of Batchewana First Nation and SOYA founder Connie Raynor-Elliott, among others.

Sault Ste. Marie has been among the hardest-hit communities in the province when it comes to opioid toxicity deaths, with a death rate about three times the provincial average. In statistics released by the Office of the Chief Coroner last month, the Sault jumped to the top of the province's list for worst rate of opioid-related deaths reported in the first three months of 2024.

“We can look at data and numbers, but behind every number there is a person and a family and an entire community that is being affected right now,” Saks said in an interview with SooToday. “The numbers in the Sault are disproportionately higher than the rest of the province and to be able to come into the community and see how strongly committed local organizations, front-line workers are in trying to claw back the tide of this was really important for us to listen and learn from.”

"I was just really struck by the compassion, the passion and the commitment from everyone we met yesterday,” she added.

Saks was appointed minister in July of 2023, at the same time she was appointed Canada’s associate minister of health. In a one-on-one phone interview on Tuesday, Saks told SooToday she came to the city at the invitation of Sheehan.

“He invited me to come some time ago to get a really deep dive and an understanding of what is happening in the north and in particular in the Sault,” Saks said. 

In an email sent in advance of Saks’ visit to the Sault, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s press secretary Sam Lilly reached out to SooToday with statistics about the changing landscape of drug deaths over the time the Liberals have been in power.

He said the number of opioid toxicity deaths increased 192 per cent in Ontario between 2016 and 2022 — going from 867 the year the Liberals took power to 2,531 in 2022.

SooToday noted to Saks that the opioid crisis has played out almost exactly parallel to the time the Liberals have been in office and asked why it’s been difficult for them to get a handle on it.

Saks responded by noting the crisis — and the deaths that have come as a result — have more to do with a toxic supply of street drugs that are poisoning users. 

"There are a myriad of challenges that are far, far more complex than what was moving through our communities 10 or 15 years ago,” said Saks. “It’s a much different situation than it was then, so I will push back on that comparison of the eight years we have been in power — I don’t think that really does justice to what is happening on the streets or a real understanding of how deadly the toxic drug supply is.”

She noted the government has committed over $1 billion to directly address the opioid crisis since 2017.

“But we need to understand what is at the root of this crisis is an ever-changing illegal toxic drug supply,” said Saks. “It is increasing in its toxicity year-over-year and we also had a pandemic in the middle of this where people were using at home and the risk of overdose alone also inflated, tragically, the number of overdose deaths we have seen.”

In a recent interview with SooToday’s Darren Taylor, Poilievre said he opposes supervised consumption sites and, if his Conservatives form government, would focus on treatment options. He is also not in favour of initiatives like the decriminalization pilot project in British Columbia. 

Lilly called Saks "Trudeau’s Minister of Hard Drug Legalization" in the email sent in advance of her visit and said Liberal policies have resulted in a crime wave running alongside the opioid crisis.

"What we have seen time and again from the leader of the Opposition is that he will throw out slogans and fear-based politics to stir up stigma and anger rather than actually digging into the evidence, listening to health care workers, listening to the data and communities of what works,” said Saks. "He would much rather get up on a podium and throw out horrific stigmatizing slogans that really put our most vulnerable people — who are on the street and are using substances and struggling with addiction — he is actually putting them at risk.”

In 2020, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police both called for decriminalization of simple possession of narcotics and to treat drug use as a healthcare matter.

In 2022, Health Canada approved B.C.’s request to decriminalize small amounts of currently illegal drugs — including heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine — in a three-year pilot project.

“The decriminalization pilot in B.C. was about ensuring people who use substances — rather than being shuffled through the justice system and being criminalized — they would be directed toward health care,” said Saks.

In April, B.C.’s government asked the federal government to re-criminalize use of those drugs in public spaces, like hospitals and restaurants.

”B.C. asked for a clawback on the decriminalization, which is 2.5 grams of personal possession to restrict where it could be used because there was a concern for public use,” Saks told SooToday. “We have always said we would partner with any jurisdiction to use every tool we have, but we also have an important role in ensuring both public health and public safety go hand-in-hand while we are trying to combat the toxic drug supply and the overdose crisis.”

Toronto made a similar application for the decriminalization of small amounts of hard drugs, with public use to remain criminalized. That application that was denied by Saks and the ministry in May.

While in the Sault on Monday, Saks announced $5 million in funding for the Makwa Waakaa’igan project at Algoma University. When completed in 2027, the three-storey cultural centre will be home to the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre archives and will house a new Mental Health and Addictions Research and Training Institute in partnership with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University.

— with files from James Hopkin