Rick Stiebel/News staff
NDP Member of Parliament Alistair MacGregor is demanding the federal government declare the opioid crisis a national public health emergency.
MacGregor, MP for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, called on the Trudeau government to commit significant new funding and resources to addressing the opioid crisis immediately in a release this week.
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“Across Canada, too many families are tragically losing parents, siblings and children to the opioid crisis,” he said. “From downtown neighbourhoods to our most remote areas, no community has been untouched by these highly addictive and dangerous drugs.”
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Citing research by the Angus Reid Institute, MacGregor said one in eight Canadians, roughly 3. 5 million people, have become dependent on opioids in the last five years alone. Fewer than one in four Canadians believe that the federal government has responded appropriately, a statistic the NDP agrees with, he added.
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“The Trudeau Liberals claim to be doing everything in their power to address the opioid crisis, and yet, that’s clearly not true,” MacGregor said. “New Democrats have been calling for the declaration of a national public health emergency for over two years. It’s time for the Liberal government to act.”
