Advocacy group urging Manitoba to take action to prevent overdose deaths

WINNIPEG -- Photos of people who lost their lives to overdoses were placed on the steps of the Manitoba Legislative Building on Wednesday, as an advocacy group called on the Manitoba government to take action to help prevent overdose deaths.

Arlene Last-Kolb, the co-founder of Overdose Awareness Manitoba, was at the legislative building on Wednesday to mark two years since the group gave the Manitoba government its petition for medically-assisted detox, long-term treatment, and ongoing supports.

“We have not heard anything back and we want to know why,” she said.

“What is happening here is unacceptable.”

Last-Kolb noted that since 2016 there have been 1,162 overdose deaths.

“I’m here today to demand the government to do better,” she said.

Last-Kolb said she’s frustrated because she feels like she’s not being heard.

“How many times do we have to say that we need immediate help? That we need the continuum of medically-assisted detox, along with our treatments and ongoing supports?” she said.

“We don’t have that. We don’t have treatments here in Manitoba that we want.”

She said she wants stigma and personal beliefs to be left behind.

“Addiction is a disease and we want to be treated with dignity just like any other person,” Last-Kolb said.

SAFE DRUG SUPPLY

The advocacy group is also urging the Manitoba government to support and fund a safe drug supply in the province to avoid deaths caused by tainted drugs.

Last-Kolb told CTV News Winnipeg last week that this is the best way to address Manitoba’s current overdose situation, which she describes as “an emergency.”

“People are dying from a tainted street supply, so I think that it would make common sense that we would supply a safe supply until we get things better and under control,” she said.

“We want to save lives.”

Last-Kolb noted that Manitoba has experts that could help create a safe consumption program, but the government needs to get on board with the idea.

“We have plenty of experts and people on the ground who are just ready to go and run with this,” she said.

“We just need the supports and the funds from this government to do this.”

GOVERNMENT HELP

Last-Kolb said Overdose Awareness Manitoba has written to the chief medical examiner asking for support and to recommend to the government that a safe supply is needed immediately.

She added that MLA Bernadette Smith also presented a private members bill, which pushes the government for improved transparency when it comes to drug overdoses.

“As a parent and as a group, we don’t feel that this is a political issue, we feel that this is a health issue,” she said.

“But we also know these decisions are made through a political party, so we need this voice, a voice in government, to be heard. We need to be listened to. We need things to happen immediately, we cannot wait.”

OVERDOSES DURING THE PANDEMIC

Last-Kolb said there’s been an increase in overdoses during the pandemic, noting that new people have been joining her group every week.

“This was a health issue quite a long time ago, it has only worsened in the last year,” she said

She said it’s “very frustrating” to think that since she started advocating, overdose deaths have increased.

“As somebody who’s been advocating a long time and for all the other families that advocate along with me and for all the loved ones that are dying, we need to do much, much better.”

Last Kolb said a tainted drug supply is killing people’s loved ones and Manitoba needs a safe supply.

“We talk about preventable deaths, this is how we could prevent deaths,” she said.

- With files from CTV’s Maralee Caruso and Jamie Dowsett.