Call For Urgent Action On The Drug Poisoning Crisis In Edmonton!

Hello Edmonton and area members and MSTH supporters,

Below you will find a draft of an email ready to send to Edmonton Mayor Sohi and City Council members. Just click on the text below and it should open into an email document for you.

You can edit it before you send it. Make sure to add your name to the bottom of the email.

Thank you for your support!

Dear Mayor and Council,

First of all, let me congratulate you on your recent election win. I know you must have a lot on your plate but I hope to draw your attention to the ongoing drug poisoning crisis that is taking too many lives in our city.

This is very personal to me, as my family has been affected by substance use-related harms. I am a supporter or member of Moms Stop The Harm, which is a coalition of families who mourn a loved one or have a loved one with lived or living experience.  

As the newly elected mayor and councillors of Edmonton, I urge you to take immediate action to prevent further loss of life and to remind you of the following:  

In March of this year, the then Edmonton city council, under the guidance of Scott McKeen, passed a two-part resolution as follows: 

• Part 1 reads: “That the Mayor, on behalf of City Council, write a letter to the Prime Minister asking for the following:

  • that the Federal Government officially recognize the overdose crisis as a national public health emergency;

  • that the Federal Government fund and accommodate overdose prevention programs in Edmonton utilizing pharmaceutical alternatives under medical supervision to illegal street drugs;

  • that the principles of decriminalization within the Government of Canada’s proposed amendments to the Canadian Drug and Substances Act, as proposed in Bill C-22 be enacted by parliament. “

• Part 2 reads: “That Administration engages with the Government of Alberta in regards to Edmonton’s five supportive housing sites to determine their eligibility for designation as therapeutic communities, with addiction treatment that includes pharmaceutical alternatives to illegal street drugs.

Recently released substance use surveillance data [https://www.alberta.ca/substance-use-surveillance-data.aspx] show us that the rate of drug poisoning deaths in Edmonton continues to increase. This could be immediately addressed by re-opening the Boyle Street Community services consumption site with emergency funding from the City of Edmonton. They currently have a  federal exemption, but the province cut their funding. Once that site is open again the city needs to also explore other locations where there is a need for a consumption site, based on neighbourhood-level data for drug poisoning events and emergency response utilization. In planning these services, it is important to provide options for those who use other routes of consumption, such as inhalation, and provide services that meet the needs of this population. Supervised consumption services save lives.

We also know that over 90% of all poisoning deaths are attributed to an increasingly toxic street drug supply, yet iOAT, a program in Edmonton that provides individuals with complex substance use disorder a safe pharmaceutical alternative, is running below capacity and not taking new patients, again because of the provincial government’s ideological interventions. The city must immediately request that the province of Alberta expand its iOAT program to the full capacity and accept new patients.

I hope that Mayor Sohi and the new council members will engage in a conversation with the Federal government and continue to follow the resolution that was passed by the previous council to seek funding for programs to address the drug poisoning crisis. 

The recent civic election and the support that this new council is showing towards the drug poisoning crisis gives me hope that we will see change, which we need because the alternative has more Edmontonian families planning funerals for their loved ones and joining the ranks of the grieving. 

Regards,

Consider Helping with our Municipal Resolution and Federal Petition Actions!

Moms Stop The Harm (MSTH) put a pause on municipal resolutions over the summer and petitions to the Government of Canada during the federal election. However, now that the election is over and the new Federal Liberal cabinet has been named, we hope to resume these activities and you can help if you have some time to do so!

The following actions do not require a great deal of time or effort.

PUSH ON MUNICIPAL RESOLUTIONS: It has been a years since Moms Stop The Harm asked municipalities to consider passing a resolution on the overdose and drug poisoning crisis. Quite a few municipalities have done so but many have not.

Step 1: See if your city, town or municipality have already submitted a resolution to the Minister of Health and Addictions by clicking here:

Step 2: Contact your mayor and city councillor (or any councillor) and urge them to pass our resolution at their council meeting. You can easily find their email or contact information by doing a search.

Step 3: You can view a copy of the resolution by clicking here, and a draft letter that you can use to send to your mayor and/or councillor is available by clicking here. Print these off or save them and send in your communication to your municipal elected officials.

PUSH ON PETITION TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: The overdose and drug poisoning crisis wasn’t given the priority it should have been during the federal election and the last session of Parliament. This needs to change and the only way this is going to happen is if people like us put pressure on our representatives to do more to reform our failed drug policies. Members of Parliament (MP) need to hear from us!

One way of doing this is by contacting your MP about presenting paper petitions in the House of Commons. This requires a bit more work that the Municipal Resolution but is well worth the effort. You can obtain a copy of the MSTH petition, get step-by-step instructions about how to work with your MP to present the petition and view more detailed information here:

If you have ANY questions, please do not hesitate to email us at info@momsstoptheharm.com and we will connect with you. We need your help, NOW!

Overdose Crisis Needs to be a Priority in the Federal Election - Federal Leader Survey

MSTH calls on federal party leaders for positions on overdose crisis: Believes crisis should be a priority in the upcoming federal election!

Justin Trudeau, Erin O’Toole, Yves-François Blanchet, Jagmeet Singh and Annamie Paul, YOU'VE GOT MAIL from our Co-Founders Leslie McBain and Petra Schulz.

With a federal election looming, Moms Stop The Harm (MSTH) wants to know where parties stand on the overdose and drug poisoning crisis.

In order to figure this out, our organization recently sent letters to federal party leaders asking them what their positions will be on a variety of issues in the upcoming election. Our letter to the Prime Minister follows as an example.

Our decision to write to federal party leaders has its origins in the last federal election. After the 2019 election, MSTH despaired because it was clear to us that the overdose crisis wasn’t a priority for most federal parties.

It wasn’t a priority in spite of a massive death toll – a toll that has only gotten larger. According to Public Health, over 21,000 people have died from opioid-related deaths in the last five years, although the real figure is probably closer to 25,000 once 2021 fatalities are added. 

MSTH’s goal coming out of the 2019 election was to increase pressure on our federal representatives to take the overdose crisis more seriously. With this in mind, we sent petitions on the overdose crisis to Members of Parliament and asked municipalities to help us in getting federal attention with resolutions. Now, we are following up with letters to party leaders. 

Ultimately, we’re hoping these actions will make a difference in what federal parties commit to in the coming election.

We think the overdose crisis should be an election priority and that it will say something dire about our federal representatives if it isn’t. We also think that all parties need to be bolder this time around. Unlike in 2019, there is now strong support in Canada for decriminalization for personal use and growing support for legally regulating controlled substances.

Ultimately leaders, to be elected, need to follow the will and desire of the electorate. Those affected by the crisis and all Canadians feel it is time for change and that letting thousands of Canadians die from drug policy failures is not acceptable!  

Here is an example of our letter to the leaders.

Once we have data back from our letter we will make that available to our network. 

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Victoria BC Rallies for Change!

With over 7000+ lives lost to the overdose crisis in BC since 2016, Victoria members and families are coming together once again to protest the province’s lack of response to the public health emergency taking place in this province. The public is invited to lend their voice as we send a clear message to our government that more immediate measures are needed to save lives. This event takes place one month prior to International Overdose Awareness Day which falls on August 31st. International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) is a global event and seeks to create a better understanding of overdose, reduce the stigma of substance use related deaths and create change that reduces the harms associated with substance use. We can’t wait another year or another day. More must be done. Please join this important event.

Event Details:

Date: Friday, July 30th, 2021

Location: Centennial Square, Victoria BC

Time: 11:30 am - *We will meet at Centennial Square and from that location march to the Ministry of Health Building (1515 Blanshard St.)

What to Bring: Noise makers and signage. We will be having the grim reaper pull a coffin with names displayed on the coffin. If you feel inspired to create a headstone with your loved ones name and photo that would be welcome.

For further information: info@momsstoptheharm.com

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Support SCS in Alberta

Tell Jason Kenney how you feel about his decision to cut #HarmReduction while four Albertans die from #DrugPoisoning every day!

While letters are unlikely to change this government ideological beliefs, they will show how we feel and create a public record that will establish who was on the right side of history for future generations to see.

Harm reduction in Alberta is under assault by an uncaring government that ignores the evidence and the mounting overdose deaths.

When the UCP government came to power in 2019 they halted the proposed consumption site in Medicine Hat and cancelled the deployment of an approved and ready-to-go mobile site in Calgary that was to serve hard-hit diverse communities in the south-east of that city.

On August 31, 2020 (on International Overdose Awareness Day), the Alberta government shut the ARCHES consumption site in Lethbridge under allegations of financial mismanagement that was not substantiated by a subsequent RCMP investigation.

On April 30th, 2021 the site attached to Boyle Street Community Services, last offered at an emergency shelter at the Edmonton Convention Centre, was closed and Alanna Smith from the Calgary Herald broke a story about the closure of the Safeworks site at the Sheldon Chumir Centre in Calgary. There will be further changes and possible cuts in other cities.

This is all in addition to funding cuts to harm reduction service providers and the re-writing and weakening of Alberta's harm reduction policy.

Thankfully through public legal action, the injectable (iOAT) treatment programs in Edmonton and Calgary were saved, but only for those who are currently in the program, as no new patents are being accepted.

The government instead is praising what they call the Alberta Model, largely focused on abstinence-based residential care.

Jason Kenney and his UCP party, do not realize that dead people need coffins not beds, and that every overdose that is reversed means a family does not have to arrange a funeral.

Please support us by sending the letter that is pre-populated to your email above.

Thank you.

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