CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Governor General visited an overdose prevention site in VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Downtown Eastside on Saturday after meeting with first responders on the front lines of substance-use issues fuelled by the opioid fentanyl.
Julie Payette met at a fire hall with firefighters and police officers as well as officials including Mayor Kennedy Stewart, British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin and Dr. Patricia Daly, the chief medical health officer for the Vancouver Coastal Health authority.
Payette said sheB次元官网网址檚 learned that the overdose crisis that has caused thousands of deaths across the country is complicated and will require a co-ordinated response including health and mental-health services in order to find solutions and B次元官网网址渄iminish hardship.B次元官网网址�
She said it wasnB次元官网网址檛 her first visit to the drug-riddled neighbourhood and that sheB次元官网网址檚 had a longtime interest in addiction issues.
B次元官网网址淏efore I was Governor General of Canada I served on the board of Drug Free Kids Canada,B次元官网网址� Payette said of the non-profit organization that aims to help parents in particular deal with youth addiction and prevention.
B次元官网网址淢y reason to be here today is just to highlight and thank the folks that do this every day,B次元官网网址� she said of firefighters and police officers who respond to multiple 911 calls daily involving people who have overdosed.
After her visit to the fire hall, Payette walked a few blocks with first responders and officials to the Molson Overdose Prevention Site, where people inject their own drugs and other drug users trained to supervise them ensure they get help if they overdose.
The site opened in December 2016 under an order from the provincial health minister, seven months after the B.C. government declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency because of a record number of overdose deaths, mostly due to fentanyl.
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Coco Culbertson, senior manager of programs at PHS Community Services Society, which runs Molson, said PayetteB次元官网网址檚 visit may help to reduce the stigma of drug use.
B次元官网网址淪he was incredibly empathetic and understanding of how these places offer humanity and dignity to people that often donB次元官网网址檛 have a lot of agency in society,B次元官网网址� Culbertson said.
Molson is around the corner from Insite, North AmericaB次元官网网址檚 first facility to offer drug users a place to walk in off the street to inject their own drugs under the watchful eye of a nurse.
Insite opened in 2003 to curb overdose deaths and spiralling HIV rates when the federal Liberals were in power and under an exemption to CanadaB次元官网网址檚 drug laws but the facility became the focus of heated court battles with the election of the Conservative government before a unanimous 9-0 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2011 kept the site open.
The success of Insite has spawned similar sites across the country including two others in British Columbia, which is also home to 30 overdose prevention sites in B.C., including the one Payette visited.
Jonathan Gormick, spokesman for Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, said the governor generalB次元官网网址檚 meeting with first responders is meaningful because sheB次元官网网址檚 not a politician.
B次元官网网址淚 think when she gathers evidence and she advocates for a position itB次元官网网址檚 taken with more validity because itB次元官网网址檚 not based on getting votes, itB次元官网网址檚 not based on towing a party line or saying something just to oppose an opposition party,B次元官网网址� Gormick said. B次元官网网址淗opefully it will influence some change and be supported across party lines.B次元官网网址�
Health Canada says about 14,000 people died in the country of opioid-related overdoses between January 2016 and June 2019 and thousands more were hospitalized.
Later on Saturday, Payette was to meet with five teenage skiers who were hailed as heroes last year for helping to save an eight-year-old boy who was dangling from a chair lift on Grouse Mountain. The teens grabbed a piece of out-of-bounds netting to help cushion the boyB次元官网网址檚 fall after convincing him to jump.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 the mom of a teenager so I know how important it is to say, B次元官网网址楬ey, good job,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Payette said.
Camille Bains, The Canadian Press
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