Winnipeg police said the parents of a 9-month-old boy have been arrested after their son was possibly exposed to the dangerous street drug fentanyl in a North End home.

Winnipeg police said emergency crews were called to a home on Aikins Street on Oct. 18 for reports of a small child in medical distress.

The boy was taken to hospital in critical condition. During the investigation, police saw a powdered substance believed to be fentanyl and told medical staff.

“It was at that point the appropriate medical measures were provided, and quite quickly the child’s condition improved,” Const. Jason Michalyshen said at a news conference Tuesday.

“I’m talking about naloxone, I’m talking about narcan where it was administered, and very quickly.”

The boy’s condition has since been upgraded to stable.

Members of the Child Abuse Unit and the Clandestine Lab Team executed a search warrant of the home. Police said about half an ounce of loose suspected fentanyl powder, 10 ounces of bagged suspected fentanyl powder, a cutting agent and a contaminate bowl and spoon were seized.

Police said they are still investigating as to how the child came into contact with the drug.

“Our investigation has taken us in a direction that the child may have had inadvertent contact with what we believe to be fentanyl, and this might be from hand-to-hand contact or clothing to the child, or other items,” Michalyshen said.

The biological parents of the child, a 33-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman, were arrested on Oct. 24.

They are charged with failing to provide the necessities of life, causing bodily harm by criminal negligence, and possession of a scheduled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

Michalyshen said while the risks of fentanyl are always severe, it is on another level when a child is involved.

“You have an innocent child who is subjected to and potentially has contact with such a potent and such a hazardous substance,” he said. “We know, whether this is a small amount or whether it’s contact indirectly or directly, the effects and the ultimate outcomes can be so incredibly tragic.”