Question Period Note: Opioid Overdose Deaths

Government of Canada law enforcement responses to address the illegal supply of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, that is driving the ongoing opioid overdose crisis and related deaths and harms.

• Protecting Canadians from the deaths and other harms associated with illegal substances continues to be a priority for our government, and we have put in place a number of concrete measures to stem the flow of illegal drugs across the country.

• This starts at protecting and securing the border, where the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers are using proven indicators, advanced technology, and intelligence- and information-sharing methods to detect cross-border trafficking in drugs and precursor chemicals used to make synthetic drugs.

• These measures are contributing to increases in seizures of both precursor chemicals and illegal drugs like cocaine, which is often contaminated with fentanyl.
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) continues its efforts to detect, investigate, and disrupt criminal threats to public safety by targeting transnational organized crime groups involved in the production and trafficking of illegal substances, including opioids.
• As a result, at least 25 clandestine drug labs have been dismantled by the RCMP and local police services in recent years, protecting Canadians from millions of potentially harmful doses of drugs.
• Budget 2023 gave the RCMP $42 million over five years to address the illegal drug supply and target organized crime networks involved in its production and trafficking.
• The CBSA and the RCMP work closely with domestic and international law enforcement and border control partners to curtail the threat from synthetic opioids.
• As we continue to respond to the opioid overdose crisis, our Government remains committed to addressing the illegal drug supply, and targeting the organized criminal networks involved in these markets, while also supporting efforts to improve public health outcomes for people who use substances.
 

The opioid overdose crisis in Canada is a national public health and safety crisis of significant concern to the Government of Canada. Between January 2016 and September 2023, there were 42,494 apparent opioid-related deaths across Canada. While threats exist from opioids in their original, synthetic, and mixed forms, a significant portion of opioid-related deaths is attributed to fentanyl and fentanyl analogues. The crisis affects all of Canada with British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario being the most impacted regions in the country, and elevated mortality rates have been observed in other areas with smaller population sizes, including Yukon.

Canada’s response to the opioid overdose crisis takes a whole-of-government approach that balances public health and safety considerations. The recently renewed Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy (CDSS) takes a compassionate, comprehensive and collaborative approach founded in a robust evidence base. Within this structure, Public Safety Canada and Portfolio partners are leading efforts to address the illegal drug supply.

A combination of factors indicates that fentanyl is now being produced in Canada, with production likely exceeding domestic demand (source: media, CBSA). The street-level drug supply is increasingly toxic, rife with potent poly-drug combinations. The presence of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, in particular, is driving a significant portion of substance use-related harms. While the amount of illegal drugs being seized at the border remains a significant and ongoing concern, seizures of precursor chemicals used to manufacture synthetic drugs like fentanyl have been on the rise since 2018 and have increased markedly in the last several years. During the same period, import seizures of fentanyl have significantly decreased. Customs agencies in the United States and Australia have reported an increase in fentanyl seizures originating from Canada (mainly in powder form).

To address illegal opioids, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) Federal Policing program is committed to detecting, investigating, and disrupting the most significant criminal threats to public safety in Canada, including the illegal fentanyl market. The RCMP’s intelligence and investigative efforts target all aspects of the illegal drug market to disrupt the involvement of key transnational organized crime groups in the production and trafficking of drugs like fentanyl.

At our borders, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) continues to target the importation of fentanyl, precursor chemicals, and production equipment (e.g., pill presses), using proven indicators, advanced technology, and intelligence- and information-sharing, including with international partners. The Government has invested in CBSA’s capacity to intercept these substances by equipping ports of entry with equipment to safely examine toxic goods, launching regional drug screening facilities staffed by field chemists in high-risk locations, and deploying more detector dog service teams to help identify the presence of fentanyl. In 2023, CBSA developed additional intelligence analysis capacity to target the smuggling of precursor chemicals into Canada.

In support of the Government’s efforts to address the trafficking of synthetic opioids and precursor chemicals, and the production of illegal substances on Canadian soil, Public Safety Canada (PS) is working with law enforcement and federal, provincial and territorial partners to identify policy options to combat organized crime involvement in the illegal drug trade and reduce the availability of precursor chemicals used in the illegal manufacture of controlled substances.

PS and Portfolio partners also work closely with domestic and international partners to counter the synthetic drug threat and related harms through numerous fora and initiatives. For instance, Canada engages with the United States through the Cross-Border Crime Forum and the Canada-U.S. Opioids Action Plan (OAP). Since 2020, the OAP is a joint effort to address the overdose crisis within the areas of law enforcement, border security, and health. Current priorities include targeting precursor chemicals, strengthening postal security and sharing samples of seized drugs to support investigations. Canada and the U.S. also work with Mexico to address continental drug threats through the North American Leaders’ Summit, Trilateral Fentanyl Committee and North American Drug Dialogue (NADD). Current trilateral priorities are focused on developing counternarcotics partnerships with source and transit countries of drugs and precursors coming to North America; addressing the challenges of multi-modal drug trafficking; understanding how firearms trafficking facilitates drug trafficking; and, addressing illicit finance. Synthetic drugs are also a growing priority at the G7, with support from Canada. Canada was a founding member of the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, a focused initiative that now counts more than 150 member states.

While measures undertaken by the Portfolio primarily target the illegal drug supply, PS also contributes to federal efforts to address harms linked to the stigmatization and criminalization of substance use. For instance, PS developed and launched an online Drug Stigma Awareness training module for law enforcement. The training was developed in partnership with key subject matter experts and provides law enforcement with tools to support them in their interactions with people who use substances. Close to 5000 frontline police officers have completed the training to date. The Department is also engaging with the provinces and territories, as well as local law enforcement, on the use of criminal penalties for simple drug possession. This work is ongoing and supports the consideration of alternatives to existing sanctions—like the three-year exemption granted to the Province of British Columbia under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which allows adults in the province to possess small amounts of certain illegal drugs for personal use.

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