Fentanyl death rate up in Alberta, as timeline on supervised Calgary site unconfirmed

As Alberta waits for an answer from the federal government on opening up supervised consumption sites, new sobering statistics on the fentanyl crisis have been released.

The latest report from the provincial government says between January and June of this year, 241 people died of fentanyl-related overdoses, including 119 in the second quarter.

That’s up from 85 during the same time in 2016. Overall last year, 343 died related to the drug.

The new data comes as Associate Minister of Health Brandy Payne announced a $1.2 million grant to the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre, specifically towards renovations for a supervised consumption site.

In June, Payne said the plan was to have the site open by the end of 2017, but on Wednesday she couldn’t commit to a timeline.

“We’re certainly doing everything in our power to ensure that sites are able to open as quickly as possible,” she said.

Health Canada has to give final approval for a site to open and Payne said they are trying to expedite the application process.

“I just really can’t see that Health Canada wouldn’t approve this to be honest,” she said, adding the centre already has an opioid dependency clinic and many prospective users are already coming in for other services.

Liberal MLA Dr. David Swann, one of the most outspoken voices on the opioid crisis, said it’s good news that money is coming into the facility, but the federal government has to hurry.

“Come on, it’s been months, what is the federal government doing and what is the provincial government doing to facilitate this life-saving service?” Swann said. “What’s the hold up here? This is supposed to be a national emergency, these approvals should be within weeks of application.”

As for non-fentanyl opioid overdoses, Payne said there’s been a lag in compiling the data and they’re working with the Opioid Emergency Response Commission for up to date numbers.