House of Commons passes emergency motion on opioid overdoses

The House of Commons health committee has passed an emergency motion calling for a study on Canada’s opioid crisis.

Don Davies, the BC NDP MP for the Vancouver-Kingsway riding, passed the motion.

#Health Committee debating my motion to undertake an emergency study of the #opioid crisis. We need to act now. #cdnpoli #ndp

— Don Davies, MP (@DonDavies) September 22, 2016

Health Committee passed my motion for an emergency study of the #opioid crisis in Canada. Great to see parties work together #cdnpoli #NDP

— Don Davies, MP (@DonDavies) September 22, 2016

The motion comes a month after Health Minister Jane Philpott announced plans for a nationwide summit on the growing opioid overdoses in the country.

“Our government is taking a comprehensive, collaborative, compassionate, and evidence-based approach to addressing this public health crisis,” said Philpott in a statement.

“There is much more work to be done, and I look forward to convening a summit this fall to work with my colleagues from across Canada to address the ongoing opioid crisis.”

In August, the federal government announced that Health Canada is proposing to move forward with plans to restrict six chemicals used in the production of fentanyl.

From January to June 2016 there have been 153 deaths linked to fentanyl in Alberta. Of those, 67 were reported in the Calgary Area.